College athlete from Hialeah Gardens killed in crash near Naples university
Emily Acosta was described by her friends and family as athletic, energetic and blessed with a big heart.
The 20-year-old from Hialeah Gardens was killed Wednesday in a car crash not far from Ave Maria University in Southwest Florida, where she attended school, the Naples Daily News reported.
The private Catholic university held a vigil Wednesday night and a memorial Mass Thursday for the junior who, according to the school, was a health science major and psychology minor and played basketball and softball.
“Our shock and sorrow over the loss of Emily are beyond words,” Jim Towey, university president, said in a post on the school’s website. “Emily’s smile lit up the lives of so many, from her former basketball and softball teammates, to her many friends privileged to know her. The void she leaves on our campus and in our lives cannot be measured. Emily was one of a kind. It will take a long time for all of us to process what happened.”
According to the Naples Daily News, Acosta was driving her 2012 Honda Civic not far from the university Wednesday afternoon when she lost control, crossed into the eastbound lanes and hit a truck carrying tomatoes. Her passenger, Kathryn Houbolt, 21, of Oak Lawn, Illinois, was seriously injured, the paper reported.
Acosta’s teammates created a GoFundMe account to raise funds for the young woman’s funeral.
“Everyone who was blessed to know Emily saw her as a positive spirit, they wrote on the page. “She was an energetic woman with a big heart and an even bigger smile...As we mourn her and try to understand the events that have taken place, we wish to support her family, especially her lovely parents, as they endure these troubling times.”
This story was originally published February 21, 2019 at 8:10 PM.
