TAMPA, Fla. -- A community that has been shaken to its core over the tragic loss of a 24-year-old woman and her daughter joined together Saturday to mourn and share support.

  • Vigil held for mother and daughter killed in Bayshore crash
  • Jessica Raubenolt and her daughter where hit by a car Wednesday
  • Police say the teen driver was drag racing

Jessica Raubenolt was pushing her 21-month-old Lillia in a stroller across Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa on Wednesday when they were hit and killed by a teenage driver who police said was drag racing.

On a stormy Saturday morning, hundreds gathered for a vigil at the growing memorial on Bayshore Boulevard where Raubenolt and her daughter were hit.

"Everybody loves the whole family but Jessica in particular is just such a nice person," said Gary Petre, a family friend. "It was hard not to smile when you talked to her, she brought joy everywhere she went."

Petre's daughter has been friends with Raubenolt since childhood. He said she was a ray of light that brought smiles to everyone she met.

"Everybody that knows the family is just torn up. You don't understand why, I've gotten to the point where I'm now angry about things," Petre said.

Police said teenagers were drag racing when they hit Raubenolt and Lillia.

"This is a road that I walk on with my children, I live just a few blocks that way and thought, 'Wow that could have been me,'" Tampa resident Kathy Yates said.

The city has already lowered the speed limit from 40 to 35 mph to address speeding problems in the area. However, advocates and neighbors say more needs to be done to protect pedestrians before another family has to suffer.

"There's nothing we can say to make this pain go away but I hope that all of us joining together, carry it with you, is some kind of help," Yates said.

The driver accused of hitting Raubenolt and Lillia, 18-year-old Cameron Herrin, appeared before a judge Saturday morning on a second vehicular homicide charge.

He was given a $50,000 bond and was ordered to not drive, leave the country, or have contact with the other teenage driver involved in the crash.