San Diego

Skyline Stop Light Shooting Victim was Mother's ‘Miracle Baby'

The victim's mother said her daughter was a miracle baby who brought her two more miracles

The woman shot and killed at a Skyline stop light Saturday evening is being remembered by her mother as a worldly talented mother of two who dedicated herself to helping troubled youth.

Police say Sylvianita Widman, 27, was shot just before 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of South Meadowbrook Drive and Skyline Drive.

She and a passenger were driving southbound on South Meadowbrook Drive when they stopped behind another vehicle at the intersection. At that point Widman got out of her car and approached the vehicle in front of hers, according to SDPD Lt. Matt Dobbs.

"Witnesses reported hearing a possible gunshot and Widman stumbled away before collapsing in a parking lot," Dobbs said.

The suspect vehicle then sped away on northbound Meadowbrook Drive, he said.

Officers found Widman in the parking lot suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital where she died about an hour after the shooting, according to Dobbs.

Lilliard said Widman was talented enough to do anything in this world but decided to devote herself to helping troubled kids stay safe.

“She talked to the kids who were from troubled homes who needed help. I couldn’t stop her from doing it. Anybody that needed her, any time of day, she was gone. I didn’t understand that until she died and I saw all the love that came. I understand what her job was now, it was to help these kids, and she did that faithfully every single day,” Lilliard said.

And when she wasn't serving other children, she was mothering two of her own -- two special gifts to Lilliard.

"She’s my miracle and she gave me two miracles," Lilliard said. "And I’m going to take care of my grandbabies if it’s the last thing I do.”

Widman was Lilliard's "miracle baby" because she was once told by doctors that she couldn't have children. Now she's tasked with burying her miracle baby while also preparing her miracle grandbabies for the rest of their lives without their mother.

“She was loved by everybody. But there were people that hurt her, and this last person did something that you can’t take back. And he knew she had two babies." Wildman's mother Regina Lilliard said.

The suspected shooter was described as a man in his 20s to 30s and was last seen driving a black Mercedes Benz coupe.

The shooting was not gang-related, police said.

Anyone with information about the shooting was urged to contact the SDPD Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

“She was loved by everybody. But there were people that hurt her, and this last person did something that you can’t take back. And he knew she had two babies.

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