ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Mandi and Rob Stewart were supposed to be planning their next trip to see their son play his last season of football at Stetson University. The game has been in their family’s lives for decades, but it hasn’t been since May 9th, 2023, the day the Stewarts lost their son.
“I’ve loved football since I could walk, played almost every day for 17 and a half years,” said Rob Stewart, “but I’ve lost that part of me.”
Earlier this year, the Stewarts helped create “Trenton’s Law” in honor of their son. Trenton graduated from Creekside High School before going to Stetson University as a football player. A few days after he got back home, he was driving back to his parents’ house after a night of work and a driver hit him head-on at 111 miles per hour — 75 miles over the speed limit.
“He wanted to be here. He had so many goals. He loved life. He was happy all the time,” said Mandi Stewart, “It’s really hard to process because I constantly say ‘you should be here,’ because he really should be here. There’s no reason for him not being here.”
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Action News Jax told you back in January when the driver, Ariel Monteagudo, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for taking Trenton’s life in the crash. Police reports show Monteagudo was on drugs when he’d driven into the wrong lane of Old St. Augustine Road and hit Trenton’s car. Before “Trenton’s Law,” Florida law held that drivers convicted in deadly DUI crashes could get a maximum 15-year prison sentence, even if found guilty of the crime more than once.
The new law raises the maximum number of years in prison to 30 for drivers who do get convicted more than once, like the driver who killed Trenton. Records through the Florida Department of Corrections show Monteagudo had previously served 10 years in prison for a separate deadly DUI crash in Broward County.
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Action News Jax looked through local court records and found there are still 91 open cases of DUI crashes in Duval, St. Johns and Clay counties, some of which were filed at the start of 2024. 16 of those cases involved repeat offenders. The Stewarts told Action News Jax they’re planning to keep fighting for harsher punishments for those who are found guilty.
“I still don’t feel like it’s as strong as we should make it, but it’s at least a step in the right direction,” Mandi Stewart said.
“Trenton’s Law” is set to take effect on October 1. In addition to helping get it passed, the parents also started The Trenton Stewart Foundation to raise scholarship money for other student athletes. You can learn more about the foundation by clicking here.
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