After a late night church service Dawnia Dacosta began the familiar half and hour ride home. She had done the drive so many times she could have done it with her eyes closed. But as she cruised down I95 she felt her car sputter then slow. She had run out of gas. 

As she eased onto the shoulder, she may have thought of her mother and the lessons drilled in long before moments like this ever came. Be prepared. Stay alert. Know what to do. So Dawnia followed those rules. Windows up. Doors locked. Hazards flashing. From where she stood, she could see the glow of a Texaco sign just off the exit ramp, not far at all. As she clutched an empty gas can, she stepped into the night, convinced it would be a quick walk… she’d make it. 

Sources:
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/fl-supreme-court/1720973.html
https://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/content/download/347254/file/02-1590_AmdInit.pdf
https://library.law.fsu.edu/Digital-Collections/flsupct/dockets/sc02-1590/02-1590amdinit.pdf
https://www.iexitapp.com/exits/Florida/I-95/North/686
https://www.newspapers.com/image/229834760/?terms=dawnia%20dacosta&match=1
https://abc3340.com/news/nation-world/lucious-boyd-cold-case-jane-doe-eileen-truppner-dawnia-dacosta-murder-rape-resolved-indictment-convicted-murderer-rapist-death-row-broward-county-sheriff-detectives-florida-december-5-2023
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1998/12/13/hundreds-celebrate-life-of-slain-nursing-student/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/638261922/?match=1&terms=Roderick%20Bullard
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/05/us/florida-murder-rape-cold-case-dna/index.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20090830185850/http://www.fadp.org/news/Sun-Sentinel-20040115.htm
https://cbs12.com/news/local/lucious-boyd-cold-case-jane-doe-eileen-truppner-dawnia-dacosta-murder-rape-resolved-indictment-convicted-murderer-rapist-death-row-broward-county-sheriff-detectives-florida-december-5-2023
https://www.newspapers.com/image/238640528/?match=1&terms=melissa%20floyd
https://pubapps.fdc.myflorida.com/OffenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&DCNumber=699893&TypeSearch=AI
newspapers.com/article/the-palm-beach-post-gina-marie-moore/9867526/