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"I hugged and kissed them goodbye," said friend and fellow JW Sister Marcia Santana.


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MLK crash kills five, including two Tampa children ages 9 and 10

By Tony Marrero, Sara DiNatale and Anastasia Dawson, Times Staff Writers

TAMPA — Marianela Murillo spent the last evening of her life in one of her favorite places.

The 39-year-old Colombian immigrant attended services Wednesday at the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall off E Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The congregation prayed and read the Bible.

Afterward, Murillo piled into her Toyota Sienna minivan with her three children and a niece and headed for their apartment about a mile and a half away.

"I hugged and kissed them goodbye," said friend and fellow church member Marcia Santana.

Pablo Cortes III spent the last evening of his life in one of his favorite places, too.

The 22-year-old Brandon man attended a meet-up of fellow car enthusiasts at the Grand Prix go-kart track in Tampa, a friend said. Cortes showed off his metallic blue Volkswagen Golf with the custom rims and tricked-out suspension, then left with a friend in his passenger seat.

Soon after, the Volkswagen and Toyota collided on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard Jr. in one of the most horrific local crashes in recent memory.

Murillo and two of her children, Maria, 10, and John, 9, died at the scene. So did Cortes and his passenger, 19-year-old Jolie Bartolome of Lithia. 

Cortes was exceeding the posted 50 mph speed limit, but investigators were still working to determine his actual speed, said a Florida Highway Patrol spokesman, Sgt. Steve Gaskins.

Although early reports at the scene indicated the crash may have been caused by street racing, Gaskins said troopers don't have any evidence to support that. A preliminary report states Cortes was driving in a "careless or negligent manner."

UPDATE: SnapChat video appears to show driver going 115 mph on night of crash that killed 5

"There were no cars around him right where the crash occurred so racing was not a factor," Gaskins said. "But speed was."

Investigators say Cortes lost control near Coconut Palm Drive, just east of the Tampa Bypass Canal, and crossed the grassy median.

Murillo was heading east and was about to turn into her apartment complex when the Volks­wagen collided nearly head-on with the Toyota. 

The Volkswagen then rotated and hit a Toyota Scion. Its driver, Carla Marie Wyman, 54, of Seffner, suffered serious injuries. The force of the collision crumpled the Golf into a mass of metal that hardly resembled a car. The Sienna caught fire. 

Murillo's 18-year-old daughter, Lina Bernal, and 15-year-old niece Luisa Louisa, who was visiting on vacation from Colombia, were taken to Tampa General Hospital with critical injuries.

Murillo's husband and the father of the children, John Bernal, was at the hospital but too distraught to talk, said Santana, the family friend.

Lina was in critical condition but able to ask what happened. 

"They don't want to tell her yet," Santana said. 

•••

On Wednesday night, Murillo's sister, Paola Murillo, looked over at the crash scene with her brother-in-law, refusing to believe her family could be inside the scorched mini-van, according to a Facebook post she wrote in Spanish.

The nightmare of Wednesday night keeps playing back in her head, she wrote. She recalled her brother-in-law telling her, "that is the car of my wife and my kids." 

"I answered no. It's a car that looks like it. It's not hers," Paola Murillo wrote. "Then why isn't she answering her phone . . . and why haven't they arrived home? 

"Until the end, God knows I had all the hope."

Santana said the couple has lived in the United States for about 15 years and that Marianela became a citizen just a few months ago. 

Her passion was her church and knocking on strangers' doors to tell them about God's promise to create a paradise on earth. She loved to cook and was known for her pupusa, a tortilla stuffed with beans, meat and cheese.

The kids were sweet, happy and loving, like their mother, Santana said.

Maria and John attended Mango Elementary, said Hillsborough School District spokeswoman Tanya Arja. Maria was in fifth grade, and John was in fourth, Arja said.

Grief counselors were at the school Thursday to help students and staff. The students expressed themselves in sympathy cards.

"I was crying," one classmate wrote. "They were to young to die."

•••

Cortes was proud of his high-performance Volkswagen. The car dominated his social media accounts. 

Brown-haired and bespectacled, Cortes drove the VW to area meet-ups where he shared his love for automobiles, said local car enthusiast Sean Le­Roux. 

LeRoux, 24 , of Clearwater said Cortes was known to be on the "aesthetics" side of the car community. His car wasn't meant to be a full-blown race car, but it was souped up and modified. LeRoux said Cortes wasn't known to race other drivers. 

Meets-ups like the one he attended Wednesday were a time to show off modifications: custom rims, grills, suspensions.

"You hang out," said Dakota Hull, 21, of Valrico. 

On Wednesday night, Hull stayed home sick while Cortes went to a routine meet-up with friends. It was the first time most of them had met Jolie Bartolome. She was a 2015 graduate of Gulf Breeze High School in the Panhandle and an avid dancer, according to a memorial page on Facebook.

When Hull got the call about the crash, he rushed to the scene. He saw Cortes' car from the roadside, barely recognizable.

Friends wrote on the group's Facebook page that Cortes would forever be missed. They also mourned Murillo and her children. 

"Family members of Cortes and Bartolome could not be reached for comment.

Santana said her friend would forgive Cortes for whatever role his actions played in the crash. So will her friends and family.

"Their family is suffering the same way Marianela's family is suffering," Santana said. "And I hope they find peace."

Times staff writer Paul Guzzo and senior researcher John Martin contributed to this report.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/accidents/mlk-crash-kills-five-including-two-tampa-children-ages-9-and-10/2300210

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    • M.C.

      Voici ma perle de cette semaine 
      2 Chron 30:6
      Le roi Ézéchias avait envoyé un courrier adressé aux Israélites : « Revenez à Jéhovah »
      Certains ont besoin de chercher Jéhovah  en revenant à lui.
      Cela peut être les inactifs, et les excommuniés
      Pour certains c’est grâce à la création de Jéhovah qu’ils perçoivent son existence, et qu’ils ont de la valeur à ces yeux
      Bien sûr, la prière, nos publications, la Bible peuvent les aider à Examiner des preuves que Jéhovah veut qu’ils reviennent à lui, 
      A leur retour dans notre organisation, le verset 9 dit Jéhovah votre Dieu est compatissant et miséricordieux
      Voilà l’amour qu’ils peuvent Ressentir 
      Jamais les bras de Jéhovah ne sont trop court 
      De même, Nos bras seront prêt à les accueillir chaleureusement 🤗
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    • Dandelion Friend

      Status Update, just for fun...if anyone is bored and wants something to read, here are some communications that show one example of how a disfellowshipping works. The emails are not posted in order, you have to look at the dates to figure out the order it happened in.😊

       














       





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    • Dandelion Friend

      What an exciting evening! (Sorry if it rambles...)
       
      I was scared because I had to go into the "shark tank." Jehovah and Jesus went with me, and they totally rocked it!😆
       
      The COBE elder that kicked me out of the assembly a couple of weeks ago was so angry tonight! (He's kinda like Haman.)
       
      My husband is PIMI but he only attends about half the meetings. He calls me an apostate and gets mad if I say anything that isn't what the GB says. He didn't go to meeting tonight. I don't let my kids go to the KH unless I go, so the kids and I usually watch the meetings online. I didn't know if they would let me and the kids into the KH. (Since they just evicted us from the assembly a couple weeks ago at lunch because I talked to people and looked like I was happy and joyful.) As we were approaching the door of the KH tonight, the doorman saw me and let it slam shut and through the window I could see him, possibly looking for permission from an elder to see if I was "banned" or not. I knocked, and the visiting CO#2 cut in front of the doorman, opened up to let me in, escorting me right past the doorman! ("Jehovah Factor"😄)
       
      (There were two COs because I guess one was getting a "shepherding visit week" from the other one...)
       
      The CO#2 was awesome, a really kind gentleman who acted like a shepherd. CO#1 didn't recognize me at first because during his last visit I didn't attend because I thought the trespassing ban was still in place (although it had been removed but the COBE conveniently forgot to tell me. I found out when I went to his house just before the Memorial to ask, since they never respond to any messages I send either by email or letter.)
       
      (Incidentally, I wrote in an earlier Status Update about my experiences running into the CO#1 at the assembly a couple of weeks ago...)
       
      As soon as we got in the KH, the regular Pharisee-types were shocked and dismayed and frowned because my presence is worse than if a contagious yowling leper came in. However, the CO#1 started asking my kids' names, and the elder standing there conveniently forgot how to talk so the CO went through the greetings and asked me my name and I chatted with him for a moment. He figured out who I was after a bit and I think he was a little shocked. (I have written to him plenty about the stuff going on in the congregation - he never replies.)
       
      So, we walked toward the auditorium and put our stuff down in the middle of the second row from the front. My kids wanted to see their friends, and I got up to walk around a little too. When I passed by CO#2, he stopped me and kindly asked me my name. (The COBE and his wife were standing right next to him.) I answered the COs questions, and we chatted and he asked where else I was from and if I was doing hospitality at all during the week. I told him I came to support the CO visit, and that I would keep him in my prayers. He was so nice. I asked him for a hug, and he gave me a hug. All this time, the COBE and his wife had steam coming out of their ears almost, and finally the COBE grabbed the CO and said "Excuse me! She's been disfellowshipped for a year!" And the CO thought he was joking! So he laughed and said something like "oh, yeah, that's funny" and then the COBE said, "No, really!" And I said, "He is a liar." Because the COBE is a liar. He bears false witness about all kinds of things. And I walked to my seat.
       
      The meeting started shortly after. The kids and I sang heartily so everyone could hear our joy and affection for Jehovah. The hypocritical COBE was called up to pray. I did not bow my head. I kept my eyes open. That man is a snake. I refuse to say "Amen" to anything he has to say.
       
      During the Bible gems my kids got to comment. I put my hand up several times too, and everybody nearly had a heart attack. (Is there a rule that says a "disfellowshipped" person can't raise their hand?) Of course, they didn't call on me.
       
      The second song was a nice loud march. We've always been told to sing loud. I am obedient to that good counsel.
       
      The CO#1s talk started off pleasant enough. Until he mentioned the "recent apostasy and divisions" the congregation has had to deal with (he means me, since I sent emails to the "friends" to tell them the sketchy things the elders were doing.) Wasn't that nice of him to mention me in the talk! My kids got irritated with his smack talk, but Jehovah got us through it. I think he used maybe three or four scriptures, two of them misapplied. Most of the talk was about worshipping the "Faithful and Discreet Slave" and how much they "have done for us".🤪
       
      I went because I love Jehovah and I knew He wanted me to go to at least one of the CO visit days, to show my support to the "friends" that I know this is the organization Jehovah is going to clean and that I haven't left of my own accord. (They know about all the details of the sketchy stuff the fake elders did because I informed them of every sketchy thing the elders did to my kids and me.) Part of why I went was to show love for the congregation. Very soon they are going to be in complete shock. I love those people, even though they are all mostly brainwashed at present. They will have a rude awakening soon enough because the GB and the Bethels will be gone when the UN attacks and the congregations are going to need to be comforted. 
       
      A nice brother said the closing prayers, so I said "Amen" to that one nice and clear. (The poor brothers on the platform were right in front me, there was no one sitting in the row in front of us.) After the meeting, my kids chatted for a little bit with friends and then we were going to leave. I said "hi" to a few people (that really irritates the COBE, that's not why I do it, I do it because Jehovah said to encourage the brothers and we can't if we don't talk to them...) 
       
      When we were leaving, CO#1 pulled my son aside to talk to him for a minute. The CO wanted me to go away, but I stayed right there, because I think it's rude to cause divisions in a family like what he was doing. The CO attempted to talk to my son about homeschooling right in front of me as if I didn't exist. I wasn't having any of it. I let him do his thing for a minute, and then I told him he was causing divisions, and if he didn't respect Jehovah's arrangement for family (like not talking to the mom who is part of the family) that he wasn't welcome to talk to my son. The COs not good association. Then we walked away.
       
      My daughter was in the library with her friend and her friends parents and two aunts (one is the wife of an elder.) As soon as I walked in - hush! Everybody stopped talking. I walked by them and told my daughter's friend I loved her and gave her a hug (I used to take her out in service together with my kids). I looked at the people in the room and said "I love you, even though I know you hate me, except for you...I know you love me" to one sister who I know is kind and real. Then we left and on the way out gave the other doorman who is like a grandfather a big hug and he said goodbye and kept waving as we drove off.
       
      What an evening! (Thank you for any positive thoughts directed my way! Jehovah is the Hearer of Prayer, and He does things with style!)
       
      "You well know that Jehovah your God is the true God, the faithful God, keeping his covenant and loyal love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.  But those who hate him he will repay to their face with destruction. He will not be slow to deal with those who hate him; he will repay them to their face." (Deuteronomy 7:9,10)

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