ERIKA ROMAN Tribute

In a video that brought tears to many people's eyes, Roman's co-workers remembered her bright smile, determined spirit, impeccable character and knack for making people feel special.

"Even if you didn't know her personally, you felt like she accepted you for who you were and what you were," said Nelson Rivera, 17, an east Orange County student who listened to Roman on the radio and had seen her at special events.

Sal Abbatielo of Fever Records in Yonkers, N.Y., read a letter that Roman sent him when she was just 19. It alluded to the life of homelessness and foster care that she and her brother, Chad, led after they were abandoned by their crack-addicted mother and before they were adopted.

"All I wanted when I was a little girl was for people to love me," Abbatiello read, his voice breaking. "I'm going to show my real mother that I am special. I can be anything I want to be."

Friends spoke of Roman's delight in succeeding at her profession and of her passion to improve the lives of children who grew up the way she did. She was a mentor at Children's Home Society, the agency where she was once in foster care, said Vanessa Roman, 38, a cousin from Orlando.

The day of the accident, Roman was on her way to visit a newly discovered brother in Miami. In a journal entry Roman wrote and her cousin read, she wrote of her joy at finding her father and half-siblings.

"At least I know I can die now," Roman wrote. "I can die in peace because I've found my inner peace."

Johnson saw her lose control of her Nissan Sentra after she maneuvered around a boat's lounge chair. The father of three ran across the turnpike and jumped into the water, which was over his head, and tried in vain to free Roman. Finally, Johnson said, a pickup used chains to pull out the Nissan and nearly a dozen people righted the overturned car. He smashed the window with a crowbar and cut Roman out of her seat belt.

"I knew she didn't have long," he said.

A Florida Highway Patrol trooper performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but it was too late; Roman had been underwater for 12 minutes.

Kimberly Solla, 32, who traveled from Manhattan for the service, summed up the feelings that many had for Roman.

"She made everybody feel that she was your best friend," Solla said. "Now I see she had a million best friends."

A private viewing for family and close friends is planned today in Ocala, where Roman's adoptive parents live. The funeral, at 2 p.m., is open to the public. Another memorial is set for June 1 in New York, with details to be announced.

Susan Jacobson can be reached at sjacobson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-540