{"id":362418,"date":"2026-08-04T11:42:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T11:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/362418\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T11:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T11:42:07","slug":"mom-of-killed-road-ranger-now-on-mission-to-pass-antonios-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/362418\/","title":{"rendered":"Mom of killed Road Ranger now on mission to pass “Antonio’s Law”"},"content":{"rendered":"

This marker is now up along Interstate 75, near the I-275 interchange, remembering FDOT Road Ranger Antonio Marazita.<\/p>\n

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Joi Marazita says the highway that took her son’s life is now a place she fears.<\/p>\n

Less than a month after 32-year-old Florida Department of Transportation Road Ranger Antonio Marazita was struck and killed while assisting a stranded motorist along Interstate 75 in Hillsborough County, his mother is channeling her grief into a campaign to toughen Florida’s drunk driving and Move Over laws.<\/p>\n

“They just put a marker up for Antonio,” Marazita said. “I’ve seen a picture of it. I haven’t gone to it.”<\/p>\n

Antonio Marazita<\/a> died July 12 after investigators say a suspected drunken driver crashed into him as he worked between two Road Ranger trucks. According to the Florida Highway Patrol<\/a>, the driver, Darren Jenkins, had a blood-alcohol level more than four times Florida’s legal limit. Jenkins remains jailed without bond while the criminal case proceeds.<\/p>\n

“It’s been a very rough couple of weeks,” Joi Marazita said, describing anxiety that now makes even routine trips difficult.<\/p>\n

“I’m afraid to get on that highway. I’m afraid to get behind the wheel of a car.”<\/p>\n

She hopes that fear can become momentum for legislative change.<\/p>\n

“I would like to strengthen Florida’s DUI laws,” she said. “I’d like harsher penalties. I’d like harsher penalties for people who don’t know how to move over.”<\/p>\n

She started a Facebook Page, “Antonio’s Law<\/a>,” to rally support and says supporters are sending letters to stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Under current Florida law, a first-time DUI conviction generally carries fines between $500 and $1,000, up to six months in jail, probation and other penalties. More severe punishments apply when a driver’s blood-alcohol level is 0.15 or higher, repeat offenses occur, or someone is seriously injured or killed.<\/p>\n

Florida’s Move Over law requires drivers to move over a lane, when possible, or slow significantly when approaching stopped emergency, service, sanitation, utility and disabled vehicles displaying warning lights. Violating the law is treated as a moving traffic violation, a penalty Marazita believes is too lenient.<\/p>\n

“The first offense is similar to like a five-mile-over speed limit ticket,” she said. “So it’s not a big deal for people. They don’t care.”<\/p>\n

State data underscore her concern. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports 116 Move Over crashes statewide so far this year. Antonio Marazita’s death is the only fatality recorded in those crashes.<\/p>\n

As prosecutors prepare for what could be a lengthy criminal case, Marazita knows changing state law could take just as long.<\/p>\n

“Lawyers say it could take a couple of years,” she said. “Well, it could take a couple of years to change a law too.”<\/p>\n

For Marazita, the effort is about ensuring her son’s death leads to safer roads for the emergency and roadside workers who continue to answer calls for help every day.<\/p>\n

“My son would be proud of me,” she said. “He’d be proud knowing that I’m fighting for him.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This marker is now up along Interstate 75, near the I-275 interchange, remembering FDOT Road Ranger Antonio Marazita.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-362418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}