Spydergirl

NEW PORT RICHEY - About 10:30 Sunday night, 18-year-old Derek Weatherholt got off work and called his best friend, Alex Smith. They made plans to meet at Smith's house.

Just a few minutes later, Smith got another call. Weatherholt had been in an accident. Smith drove to the scene, where he found rescue personnel working on his friend. He told them he was Weatherholt's brother so he could get closer.

Shortly thereafter, Weatherholt was pronounced dead.

According to a police report, Weatherholt was riding his black Yamaha motorcycle south on Little Road when he approached Rancho Del Rio Drive, only blocks away from Smith's house. As Weatherholt rode through the green light, an SUV driven by 17-year-old Tiffany Banks turned left into a Wendy's and the two vehicles collided, Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Larry Coggins said.

Coggins said the patrol's investigation is continuing.

Banks has no violations on her driver's license. Frank Penela, a spokesman with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said a notice had been sent to Weatherholt on Friday saying his license had been suspended. It was unknown whether the letter was received. Records show Weatherholt had received 12 points on his license in under a year, from four speeding tickets.

As rain fell outside Weatherholt's parents' home Monday afternoon, cars lined both sides of the street. Family members sat with Derek's parents, Beatrice and Brian Weatherholt, tears streaming down their faces.

Derek "always made sure to hug his mother and say he loved her" when he left home, Brian Weatherholt said.

His son's biggest passion, he said, was riding his motorcycle. "He knew exactly which one he wanted," he said. "He was an excellent rider. He just loved being on that bike."

Derek's parents had bought him the black Yamaha Raven motorcycle just a few months ago.

Derek's friend T.J. Noe died two years ago in a car accident, Brian Weatherholt said, and Derek had a hard time with it.

"This past February, he dropped out of school," Brian Weatherholt said. "But he decided he wanted to make his life better, that a GED wasn't enough. He wanted a diploma."

So Derek took classes at River Ridge High School this summer, the same school he left only months before. He set up his schedule for the fall and was set to graduate in December.

His family praised his courage to go back to the same school and make his life better.

"I am so proud of him for taking his life back," Brian Weatherholt said.

His dad also believed his son was going to make his way to culinary school.

Victoria, his sister, remembered Derek's love for the grill and how much he enjoyed making hamburgers.

"And he certainly wouldn't let you get near his Dr Pepper," she said, cracking a smile.

His parents also said Derek was an organ donor and they were making plans to go through with donation.

"We had talked about it together," Brian Weatherholt said. "But I never thought we would be sitting here having to do it."

Derek's photo on Myspace.com is the black Raven motorcycle he rode Sunday night. On Monday, Brian Weatherholt asked his daughter if she had taken down his profile.

"I can't just delete my brother. It'd be like getting rid of him," Victoria Weatherholt said, as tears flowed down her face. "I just can't do that to him."