ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Two families forever changed by two separate but eerily similar tragedies are now united in a fight to change Florida law — after a repeat offender was involved in deadly crashes that claimed the lives of two teenagers more than 20 years apart.

In May 2023, just days before Mother’s Day, Mandi and Robert Stewart were awakened by a knock on the door that changed their lives forever.

“It really started with a pounding at the door early in the morning,” Mandi Stewart said. “I saw two police officers standing there. And of course, my worst fear—my heart immediately dropped.”

Their only son, Trenton Stewart, had just returned home from college. The 18-year-old Stetson University football player was hit head-on by a wrong-way driver who had been going over 100 miles per hour on a Jacksonville road.

“This is his phone from that night. I had to double-bag it cause it’s so destroyed…It just exemplifies how fast the offender was going,” Mandi said, holding the shattered phone.

A room in their home now serves as a memorial filled with football gear, play sheets and even the drink he bought that morning.

“These were the gloves that he wore. These were his plays he still had in his bag that he was studying,” Mandi Stewart said. “This was the last drink that he purchased that morning.”

The man who killed Trenton, now in his 40s, is no stranger to deadly driving. In 2001, he crashed while drag racing in South Florida, killing 15-year-old Christina Ramos.

He served 10 years in prison. Now, he’s doing another 12 for Trenton’s death — and is scheduled for release in 2035.

“Christina was like a daughter to me,” Margarita Oxenreider, Christina’s aunt, said. “The first time I’ve heard of him being out was when my sister contacted me and said that he had killed another teenager.”

Christina’s mother, Aida Berrios, says the pain never went away.

“We didn’t get to see her graduate. We didn’t get to see her get married, we didn’t get to see her to have her first child,” Berrios said. “I mean, my daughter had her life ahead of her. And he’s still roaming around doing the same thing.” 

Under current Florida law, even a second deadly offense like this one is still considered a second-degree felony, with a maximum sentence of 15 years.

“The way that the laws are written right now, he could technically get out, do this again, go away for another 12 to 15 years, get out again, and even possibly do it again,” Mandi Stewart said.

Now, the Stewarts and Christina’s family are pushing for change through proposed legislation: Trenton’s Law.

State Rep. Kim Kendall, a Republican from St. Johns County, is sponsoring House Bill 687.

“The main focus of this bill is if anybody causes a vehicular homicide or a DUI manslaughter for a second time or a third time, they have an increase of enhancements. It’s no longer only a second-degree felony — it will be a first-degree felony,” Kendall explained.

A similar bill is making its way through the Florida Senate, Senate Bill 138.

Right now, a second offense like Trenton’s case carries the same maximum sentence as selling a stolen cell phone. If passed, Trenton’s Law would double the maximum sentence to 30 years for repeat offenders.

“It will help a lot of people. It will keep those who think they can’t be touched by the law, get touched by the law. It needs to be done, and we need it,” said Oxenreider.

For both families, the mission is clear: no more preventable deaths by drivers who’ve already taken a life.

“I think this is where logic and law can align — that if you have killed two people, you did not learn your lesson the first time. Now you’ve taken two lives, wrecked endless lives in the process, that it just makes sense that there should be an enhancement,” Mandi Stewart said.

Trenton’s Law has already passed through several legislative committees this session but still needs full approval from the Florida House and Senate before heading to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk.

If signed into law, it would take effect Oct. 1, 2025.

The driver who killed Trenton Stewart is scheduled to be released in 2035.