Radio deejay dies following car crash

Orlando radio personality Erika Roman, of Power 95.3 , has died following a single-car accident. The Florida Highway Patrol reports that Roman was driving southbound on Florida's Turnpike when the wreck occurred. It happened around 1:30 p.m. about 20 miles south of YeeHaw Junction at mile marker 171 in the Fort Pierce area.

"There was a single vehicle rollover where a woman was killed today, " confirmed Sgt. Jorge Delahoz with the FHP. According to the accident report, Roman swerved to avoid debris in the road and lost control of her car, rolling down an embankment. "The car rolled 65 feet into canal," said Sgt. Delahoz. 

Troopers said guard rails failed to stop the vehicle.  A Good Samaritan and a Trooper dove into the canal and were able to remove Roman from her Nissan Sentra.   Two Troopers performed CPR on Roman for approximately twenty minutes before she was transported to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce where she later died.

The debris has been identified as a a boat lounge chair.  Troopers are trying to determine how it got in the middle of the road and who is responsible.

Known to many of her fans as, “Your Chula,” Roman joined WPYO FM in 2006 as their first Latina on-air radio personality.  The 33-year-old resident of Winter Park was a producer and co-host of the Lil' Shawn and Obie Morning Show.  Roman's colleagues announced her death over the air, noting a tremendous loss for the station. "We're remembering our true love, Ericka Roman. We lost her today."

“Power 95.3 has become like my family” Erika was quoted as saying on the station's website.

Born and raised in New York City, Erika began her career as a promoter for Fever Records while attending Marymount Manhattan College in New York, where she eventually attained a BA in Communications and Media.

Listeners of Power 95.3 were informed of the news shortly after 8 p.m. on Friday evening and have been invited to post thoughts on the radio station's website.

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"Erika was a wonderful, passionate person and she will be missed greatly by all of her friends and family. We know that she touched the lives of many of our listeners."

The crash remains under investigation, but FHP troopers have determined that Roman was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.