MANATEE — The whole crew of friends had been bowling and out to dinner, making it a great night for all.
Looking to keep hanging out, 21-year-old Henrique Romero and his tight-knit group of a half-dozen friends did what they often did — they went to his family’s house to keep the night going.
Romero lived in a stand-alone barn turned into an apartment on his family’s property off State Road 70, a place where he and his buddies often ended their nights, said close friend Steve Goodwin.
But as Saturday night ended, Sunday morning turned into a nightmare, as Romero, the beloved friend everyone called “H”, left the barn to take a friend home, and never came back.
At 4:30 a.m. the worst news came to the Romero family, and his best friends who slept in the barn not knowing that on their friend’s way home, a car had plowed into the rear of his van, causing it to overturn on U.S. 301 at Tallevast Road, killing him at the scene.
The driver of the Pontiac who troopers said plowed into the back of the van, 32-year-old Mary Zimmerman of Sarasota, had been seen prior to the crash straddling both lanes of U.S. 301, according to the FHP report.
Troopers have ruled that alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, and a blood sample taken from Zimmerman has been sent off for testing. No arrest has been made, according to FHP Lt. Chris Miller.
“We had dozed off, just trying to wait for him to come back,” said Goodwin. “We didn’t know until the troopers knocked on a neighbor’s door trying to find his family to tell them he was gone.”
The news of Romero’s death has his family devastated and friends reeling over losing someone “everyone should get a chance to know,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin met Romero at Manatee Technical Institute, where they both studied precision machining, and became fast friends. Within a few weeks of hanging out, they went on a road trip to Goodwin’s hometown in Massachusetts. The nine-day road trip was a blast and forged a friendship. Goodwin said he and many others are struggling to cope with the loss of their friend.
“He was one of the greatest people you would ever want to know,” Goodwin said. “He cared about everybody.”
Romero loved the outdoors and especially loved working on cars, a skill he honed at MTI, getting degrees in both the school’s automotive and precision machining program. He picked up machining so well that he became a state award winner in a competition in the field, according to his MTI instructor Dave Grenier.
It was par for the course for Romero, Goodwin said.
“He was gifted in so many ways. When he started learning about something, it wasn’t long before he had it down,” said Goodwin.
On Monday, the day after the crash, Romero had been due to start a new job. He was taking Goodwin’s place as a machinist at Champ Products in Bradenton, where Goodwin got a promotion.
“He was excited about that job,” Goodwin said.
Now that Romero is gone, Goodwin says keeping busy is all his friends can to do cope. Almost all that is.
They are also planning to place a cross where their friend died, and continue a project dear to Romero’s heart. The plan is to finish a renovation he had started on a sports car to give to his family.
The family has also announced a memorial service for Romero at Brown & Sons Funeral Home, 5624 26th St. W., Bradenton, from 4 to 6 p.m. today. A service in Spanish will begin at 6 p.m.
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