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Hillsborough mother of 4 ID’d as woman killed on I-275 on Christmas morning

Stephanie Contreras leaves behind an 8-year-old daughter, twin 2-year-old daughters and a 1-year-old son, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Stephanie Contreras, a 29-year-old mother of four from Dover, was named by the Florida Highway Patrol on Thursday as the woman who was found lying on the shoulder of Interstate 275 on Christmas morning with critical injuries and later died.
Stephanie Contreras, a 29-year-old mother of four from Dover, was named by the Florida Highway Patrol on Thursday as the woman who was found lying on the shoulder of Interstate 275 on Christmas morning with critical injuries and later died. [ Photo courtesy of the Contreras family, via the Florida Highway Patrol ]
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Published Dec. 29, 2022|Updated Dec. 29, 2022

A 29-year-old woman who was found lying on the shoulder of Interstate 275 on Christmas morning with critical injuries and later died was a mother of four named Stephanie Contreras, the Florida Highway Patrol announced Thursday.

A road ranger with the Florida Department of Transportation was on the interstate Christmas morning when the employee found Contreras lying on the northbound side of the interstate, south of Dale Mabry Highway, just after 7 a.m., according to the Highway Patrol.

Stephanie Contreras, a 29-year-old mother of four from Dover, was named by the Florida Highway Patrol on Thursday as the woman who was found lying on the shoulder of Interstate 275 on Christmas morning with critical injuries and later died.
Stephanie Contreras, a 29-year-old mother of four from Dover, was named by the Florida Highway Patrol on Thursday as the woman who was found lying on the shoulder of Interstate 275 on Christmas morning with critical injuries and later died. [ Photo courtesy of the Contreras family, via the Florida Highway Patrol ]

Contreras had what troopers described as “a significant head injury, as well as road rash throughout her body.” She was taken to an area hospital, where she later died.

The young mother had four children — an 8-year-old daughter, twin 2-year-old daughters and a 1-year-old son, the Highway Patrol said in a news release.

Stephanie Contreras, a 29-year-old mother of four from Dover, was named by the Florida Highway Patrol on Thursday as the woman who was found lying on the shoulder of Interstate 275 on Christmas morning with critical injuries and later died.
Stephanie Contreras, a 29-year-old mother of four from Dover, was named by the Florida Highway Patrol on Thursday as the woman who was found lying on the shoulder of Interstate 275 on Christmas morning with critical injuries and later died. [ Photo courtesy of the Contreras family, via the Florida Highway Patrol ]
Stephanie Contreras, a 29-year-old mother of four from Dover, was named by the Florida Highway Patrol on Thursday as the woman who was found lying on the shoulder of Interstate 275 on Christmas morning with critical injuries and later died.
Stephanie Contreras, a 29-year-old mother of four from Dover, was named by the Florida Highway Patrol on Thursday as the woman who was found lying on the shoulder of Interstate 275 on Christmas morning with critical injuries and later died. [ Photo courtesy of the Contreras family, via the Florida Highway Patrol ]

Contreras’ death is under investigation, the agency said. Anyone with information about what happened to Conteras is asked to call *FHP (*374) or contact Crime Stoppers at **TIPS (**8477).

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