One year ago today, a car plowed into four of Wilkins' children as they walked home from a community park, killing two of them.

The driver did not stop.

Life has been hell, said the 30-year-old single mother, who has difficulty sleeping and is troubled by those who point out that her children lacked adult supervision when they were struck that night.

``People treat me all kinds of ways. People run their mouth. I get nasty looks,'' Wilkins said. ``The only thing I was doing was trying to let my kids have fun.''

Bryant Wilkins, 13, his brother Durontae Caldwell, 3, and their two siblings were hit as they crossed North 22nd Street after watching a basketball game at a county park adjacent to the popular University Area Community Center.

Bryant and Durontae died.

A memorial service at 6:45 tonight at Peace Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, at 2607 E. 24th Ave., will include a moment of silence at 7:11, the time of the accident.

Wilkins, during a tearful interview Wednesday at the Tampa Palms office of her attorney, Tom Parnell, said tonight will be an opportunity for the community to come together and show respect for her children.

Wilkins chooses not to talk about Jennifer Porter, the teacher charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death, but is angered by delays in Porter's trial. ``It's just not fair. That's all I can say. It's just not fair.''

Twice rescheduled, the trial is slated for Oct. 31.

Porter, a dance teacher at Muller Elementary School, stepped forward five days later.

Porter, 29, is represented by Tampa attorney Barry Cohen. At a news conference April 5, Cohen said fear prevented his client from stopping after her 2000 Toyota Echo struck the children.

The Hillsborough County School Board suspended Porter without pay.

The hit-and-run in the low- income neighborhood angered many, attracted national attention, and accelerated pedestrian safety improvements on the busy two-lane county road many use as a shortcut between Bearss Avenue and University Mall.

The 22nd Street project was put on a fast track by Hillsborough County commissioners, who approved a new traffic signal with pedestrian crosswalk and speed humps to force motorists to observe the speed limit, reduced to 20 mph after the accident.

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 977-2854, Ext. 22.

Keyword: Hit And Run, for background information on the case.