Texas mom's struggle for a better life ends abruptly in Tampa

A mom's struggle for a better life ends abruptly in Tampa at hot dog stand
By Alexandra Zayas, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, August 26, 2009


TAMPA — Carolina Allmon worked in a school cafeteria in Texas, but fantasized about running her own restaurant.

She was 42, supporting two daughters, struggling to pay the bills.

Two weeks ago, she took a chance. She moved with her girls from Texas to Tampa and partnered with her friend's husband, Vicente Hernande Quintero, to open a roadside hot dog stand. They settled in a gas station parking lot on busy Hillsborough Avenue. On Monday at 11 a.m., they opened for business.

As Quintero recovered at Tampa General Hospital from broken ribs and back injuries, he recalled what happened on that first day.

Allmon was securing a sign just before 4 p.m. when Quintero heard her scream.

Moments later, police found him under the metal tongue of a runaway trailer. Police say the trailer detached from a pickup truck and careened toward their stand, striking them.

Quintero later learned that Allmon had tried to flee, but was hit by a riding lawn mower as it tumbled off the trailer. She lay next to him, dead.

The 16-year-old pickup truck driver, Dennis Tintle, was cited for failing to secure his trailer.
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A moms struggle for a better life ends abruptly in Tampa