Family honors loved one by giving back

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Friends and family are remembering the life of a loved one by giving back.

The people cleaning trash from a stretch of Ebenezer Church Road in Raleigh are volunteers, and their work is a tribute to Emerald Padilla.

The 24-year-old was killed when her car hydroplaned and burst into flames in Greensboro.

In her memory, her loved ones adopted the stretch of road in Wake County to keep her name in their thoughts daily.

"This is the highway to my job, where I've worked for 25 years," Emerald's father, Celso Padilla, Jr. said.

Now when they drive along the road and see Emerald's name, family members said they will remember the life they lost all too soon.

"So I'm going to keep it clean, and we're going to keep it beautiful, just like she was. Beautiful," Celso Padilla, Jr.  said.

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