JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The mother of a 22-year-old woman killed Saturday when she fell off the back of a motorcycle on I-295 and was hit by a car said the last few days have been a painful blur.
Susan Starr said she doesn't know how her daughter, Teal Starr, slipped off the motorcycle, which was being driven by Teal's boyfriend, Kristopher Mcanear, on I-295 near the Baymeadows exit about 11:50 p.m. Saturday. He wasn't injured.
Susan Starr said she's hired a lawyer to look into what happened as she now plans her daughter's funeral.
“I just hope she didn’t have any pain,” she said. “I hope she went fast. We miss her.”
Starr said everyone is hurting, including her other children, and they are just trying to get through it all.
She said that a few years ago, her husband committed suicide and her family has been living paycheck to paycheck ever since. She said moving forward from this is going to be extremely hard.
“I don’t know, counseling. I don’t know, day by day. It’s all you can do,” Starr said through tears.
She said she and her daughter were out Saturday evening before Mcanear, 23, picked Teal up on his motorcycle to drive her home. Teal was riding behind Mcanear as they drove north on I-295 when somehow she slipped off and was hit by a Nissan Altima.
“He felt one arm come off, and then the other, and he looked at her before she got hit, and he tried to revive her, but she had blood coming up,” Starr said.
Mcanear has about a dozen traffic citations and was arrested three days before the accident for reckless driving, willful disregard for safety and not having a driver’s license. He was released Wednesday after posting bond. The Florida Highway Patrol report on Saturday’s wreck did not say whether charges were pending against Mcanear. Teal's mother said he would never put Teal’s life at risk.
“Kris was not at fault. I know he rode stupid when he was alone, but not when she was on the bike,” Starr said. “He loved her. He was fixing to marry her. So don’t blame him. He is torn up bad. He’s worse than me.”
The driver of the car who hit Teal Starr had one prior speeding ticket in Duval County from a few months ago.
Dale Lawrence, the mother of Teal Starr's former boyfriend, said Teal lived with her family for about a year and her son is struggling with Teal's death.
“It’s devastating. I want my son to be OK and I’m not sure it’s something you ever get over,” Lawrence said. “She was a lot of fun. Anyone you ask is going to tell you when she came into a room, it lit up. She was a gorgeous young lady.”
Lawrence said she is concerned for Susan Starr.
"As a mom, I cannot even imagine. I know how I'm feeling. I cannot even imagine what Susan is feeling," Lawrence said.
Susan Starr has started a GoFundMe account to help raise money to give her daughter a proper funeral.