UCF Student Killed On 21st Birthday
Beyond UCF, News, Safety — By Cliff Jett on December 20, 2010 at 2:18 amChelsea Brooke Torres, a 21-year-old UCF student, was killed early Sunday morning while driving her 2001 Volkswagen, Torres’ friends confirmed to KnightNews.com.
Police told Local 6 she was heading the wrong way on Vineland Road — driving east in the westbound lane — around 3:15 a.m. near the Turnpike overpass. Then, Torres, who was not wearing a seatbelt, crashed head on into another car. She was pronounced dead there in the road, just hours into her 21st birthday.
Elvis Felix, the driver of the other car, was wearing his seatbelt, and was taken to Orlando Regional, complaining of back and neck pain.
KnightNews.com contacted Torres’ roommate, Sydney Rae Sarcomo, who said they both lived together for about five months. Sarcomo said Torres had been attending Tallahassee Community College for the past two years, but had started UCF’s hospitality school this fall.
Torres and her friends were supposed to get together tonight at Howl At the Moon, a piano bar on International Drive to celebrate her birthday. Instead, they spent the day posting goodbye messages on Facebook, and trying to figure out how to cope with their friend being taken away on the same day they planned to celebrate how far she’d come in 21 years.
“She and I went to Dr. Phillips High School together where we both cheered together for three years,” Sarcomo told KnightNews.com. “She graduated in ’08. We have been friends for 6 years.”
Even though Torres wouldn’t be there, her friends still wanted to meet up. “I’m pretty sure we should al still go orat least do something in memory of Chelsea tonight,” Chris Silveira posted on the Facebook event page called “Chelsea’s 21st !!!!”
Torres’ friends did end up getting together to celebrate her birthday tonight, but decided to meet up at her apartment instead of the bar. The focus, according to the Facebook page, would not be on alcohol, but on their friend.
“You are more than welcome to bring food but I would appreciate it if we could stay away from the alcohol,” Sarcomo wrote on the 21st birthday Facebook event.
Friends of Torres, from as far back as Elementary school, are also meeting up on her facebook page, logging on to to say Happy Birthday — and goodbye.
“I still have the valentine’s day card you gave me in 5th grade ♥ All I can think about is doing front handsprings on the ymca lawn with you for hours. You’re going to be ridiculously missed, happy birthday RIP ♥,” Jessica Cole posted.
Sarcomo told KnightNews.com Torres wasn’t drunk before the crash, and had been visiting with friends and family, including her mother, after attending the Dr. Phillips High School state championship football game.
Sarcomo said Torres decided to drive home to sleep in her own bed, before her big 21st birthday party the next day. She suspected the fog could have played a role in driving the wrong way.
Orlando police haven’t yet released any details of their investigation regarding why Torres was driving the wrong way. Once we get more information, we will post updates.
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18 Comments
Was she drinking?
all these comments need to be deleted, what good is the internet without comments posted by people saying things they’d never have the guts to say face to face in person
I don’t understand who would take time out of their day to get on here and write personal assumptions about how this girl passed. She seemed like an awesome person and now she is gone. Comments should reflect how sad this situation is, not how you think she should have been more responsible. come on people, have a heart.
This is a very sad story about a very special person. Unfortunately, when you look at the pieces,
It was her 21st bday.
her co worker said she left work in a hurry at 9pm to start her bday festivities.
She was driving down the wrong way at 330am
We can pretty much put 2 & 2 together. This is just another example why you should not drink & drive. RIP Chels
If you people really think people aren’t going to discuss what happened on here, you’ve got another thing comin’. People are curious, and also insensitive. If you are offended by what they might say, stay away from news articles that allow for comments. It’s a very sad situation, but people are going to speculate, assume, and yes sometimes be jerks. It’s the way it is. Just a heads up.
I can’t believe that people who don’t Chelsea are making assumptions about her death. Please show some respect. If you don’t have anything positive to say then don’t say it.
Rest in peace Chels <3
I guess it could be classified as some form of sick self entitlement or exampling moral superiority by any means necessary, but a young girl is dead before her time. She may or may not have been drinking, I don’t particularly care about the cause of the crash because the fact remains that a crash DID occur and ended the life of a young woman. I was driving in this area throughout that night as well and it wasn’t exactly clear outside. In fact it was quite the opposite. Had a couple close calls myself.
Thank you “Embarrassed”!!
Chelsea was a beautiful and responsible soul–what happened on her 21st birthday is a horrifying tragedy to her family and all
her friends. She was in the wrong place at the time of the accident and unfortunately her injuries would have still been fatal with a seatbelt. We all need to pray for her loved ones at this most difficult time!!
It is absolutely embarrassing that anyone would post anything other than good wishes and prayers for the people impacted by Chelsea’s death. Get over yourselves and your self entitlement and please respect the situation. R.I.P Chelsea Torres
Anyone could have gotten disoriented that night. I’ve never seen so much thick fog, everywhere. She wasn’t drinking and on a road with eternal construction going on, yes I could see why there was a head on collission. Rest in peace Chelsea.
It is a sad situation, but it seems as if the media always highlights anyone who dies young regardless of the situation. If this girl was drinking she should not have been driving. If other people saw her drinking they should have taken her keys. She should have been wearing her seatbelt. These are the facts.
If the cause of the accident was the fog, then the girl should have known to wait it out or drive with extra caution.
This death will be mourned by the UCF community, there is no doubt in my mind of that, but there is no way to change the fact that this death could have been avoided if Chelsea had been more responsible.
Most premature deaths such as this one are avoidable. Chelsea could have done more to save herself. No one ever seems to point that out…
Where do you go to school? Pretty sure it doesn’t take more than 1+1 to figure out this is a DUI incident. It is no doubt a sad situation for her family and friends, but damn… how STUPID is it to get behind the wheel of a car if you’ve been drinking. Get real.
Whats wrong with you people, blaming the accident victim for her own death? Over-generalizing and acting like you know all of the facts after reading this tiny little article. Dont the folks at UCF teach your better than that?
I am sure she had been drinking. We will know shortly, but there is unfortunately a pervasive attitude that drinking and driving is ok.
It really is sad.
So she was out at 315, on her 21st, with no seat belt, and drove straight into a car!? Toxicology report please.
@GatorsSuck “learn from her mistake” of not wearing her seatbelt? How about being of clear mind and NOT driving in the wrong direction? This is almost clearly an DUI-related incident.
RIP. I hope at least a few people learn from her mistake and start to buckle up, it is insane to go above 30mph without so much as a seatbelt…