Funeral Set For Pasco-Hernando Softball Player

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — Funeral arrangements for Brooke Ashlee Gonzalez, the Pasco-Hernando State College softball player killed in a Monday crash, have been announced.

According to college officials, visitation is set to take place Saturday, April 30 at 10 a.m. at Unity Baptist Church, followed by the funeral service at noon. Pastor Gene Cone will oversee proceedings at the 1300 N.W. 100th St. church in Anthony, which is in Marion County.

“The service is open to everyone who wishes to honor Brooke’s life,” Courtney Boettcher, the college’s spokeswoman, wrote in an email to media.

To make it easier for Pasco-Hernando students to attend, Stage Coach Charter has offered free transportation to and from the service, Boettcher said. The church is about a two-hour drive from PHSC’s New Port Richey campus.

Students interested in riding the charter bus should meet in the West Campus’ No. 7 parking lot at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday. The bus is expected to return to the campus by about 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The family has asked that donations be made to Brooke’s nephew Carter in lieu of flowers. Carter is awaiting a liver transplant and has a gofundme account established to help his family offset medical expenses. Donations can be made online at: www.gofundme.com/akalittlepeanut.

Brooke, 19, was killed in a crash that occurred on State Road 52 Monday night.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Scott Thomas Yutzy Jr., 22, of Lakeland was heading westbound on State Road 52 around 10 p.m. Yutzy was in the outside lane, just east of Chenwood Avenue, as Brooke was heading westbound on a sidewalk.

Yutzy, a highway patrol report said, failed to maintain control of his 1999 Ford Escort and ran onto the sidewalk, striking Brooke.

Charges in the crash are pending the outcome of the highway patrol's investigation.

Brooke was “an outstanding PHSC honor student and star softball player,” Boettcher said. She was to receive her associate’s degree in May and was scheduled to play in the NJCAA District P softball tournament in Burlington, N.C., next week.

Photo courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College

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