Trenton Stewart’s parents say irreplaceable signs were taken and destroyed over the last two months.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For Mandi and Robert Stewart, the site of their son’s memorial off Old St. Augustine Road in Jacksonville is sacred ground.

“If I had one place that did feel like I was more connected to him, it was here at this crash site because he was more alive,” Mandi explained.

Their son Trenton was hit and killed there in a head-on crash in May 2023. He was 18 years old at the time and a graduate of Creekside High School. He had just finished his first year at Stetson University where he played football.

Since then, the Stewarts have been advocating for Florida laws to change after learning the driver who killed Trenton had already spent time in jail for another vehicular homicide. They were successful with the Florida state legislature passing Trenton’s Law this year, which increases penalties for repeat offenses of vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter.

“We were very appreciative that we were able to get that passed and to have so much support, knowing that we really are going to be able to share and use Trenton’s story to save the lives of other people. But it feels surreal because I still can’t fathom how this is really Trenton’s story,” Mandi said.

But while they were waiting for the law to go into effect on Oct. 1, they have been dealing with a different kind of loss.

“When I noticed that sign was gone, it really caused a lot of concern,” Mandi said.

Mandi first noticed a sign was missing from the memorial as she was driving by it back in May. The sign had signatures from Trenton’s football teammates and coaches.

“That piece especially meant so much to be because that’s something you can’t get back,” Mandi said.

A plaque Mandi had specially made for Trenton was also shattered and other trinkets left by friends and members of the community were taken. She said that is when she realized someone had to be messing with the memorial on purpose.

“Then it became clear to me this is definitely somebody who, for whatever reason, is very passionate about this particular area and really did destroy a piece that had his face and loving memory on it,” Mandi said.

Robert said this went on least a dozen times in the last two months.

“What we have done is taken this tragedy and the pain and turned it into action for the community, completely selfless in our actions to have Trenton’s law to protect others. It won’t do anything to bring Trenton back. Then to have someone be completely the opposite and be selfish and cowardly and immature to go after something that really only means something to family and friends, it’s really difficult to understand why someone would want to do that,” Robert said.

Mandi called the City of Jacksonville and the Florida Dept. of Transportation to find out if one of their employees took parts of the memorial. 

“I thought, well, let me seek to better understand, is there something that we’re doing that would have caused you to take this piece? And if so, do you have it? Can I just have it back? Educate me, I want to work with you. I just want that piece back if I can have it back. And everybody I talked to said, ‘ma’am, we, we wouldn’t do that,'” Mandi explained.

Private Investigator Kathy Conran heard about what was happening and wanted to help.

“You don’t have a right to take a person’s grief or re-victimize them again,” Conran said.

First Coast News was there as Conran put up trail cameras on trees near the scene and pointed them at the memorial in the hopes of catching whoever might be behind this.

After about a week, a camera finally caught a man with a trash bag.

“The biggest thing for me is I just wanted to know who it was. I never thought I’d get a why and there’s no logical why, but I just want it to stop,” Mandi said.

Conran and the Stewarts contacted the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and filed a report. So far, no charges have been filed.

While they wait for answers, the Stewarts said they are ready to put this painful experience behind them and continue share their love for Trenton.

“What I won’t allow to happen is for this to become a place where I feel unsafe or feel like I can’t take a knee and take a timeout to honor my son. There’s nobody who is going to stand in my way or my family’s way or in his friends’ way of giving us that healthy outlet to be able to come and just have a moment,” Mandi said.