Three dead found as submerged stolen car pulled from St
Three teenagers dead after submerged stolen car pulled from St. Pete pond
Three teenaged women are dead after a stolen car crashed into a pond in the southwest quadrant of I-275 and Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg early Thursday morning.
Three teenaged ladies are dead after a stolen car crashed into a pond in the southwest quadrant of I-275 and Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg early Thursday morning.
A stolen car sped off the road and into a pond in St. Petersburg Thursday morning.
Three teenaged ladies are dead after crashing a stolen car into a pond in St. Petersburg early Thursday morning. That pond is located on the property of The Royal Palm Cemetery located at two thousand six hundred Gandy Boulevard.
The teenagers are identified as 16-year-old Dominique Battle, 15-year-old Ashaunti Butler, and 15-year-old Laniya Miller. All three had criminal histories including grand theft auto. Combined they had seven grand theft auto charges against them in just the last year.
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Pinellas County Sheriff, Bob Gualtieri, laid out the timeline of events leading up to the crash.
He said the damsels were suspending out near the intersection of 22nd Ave South and 9th St in St. Pete and asked a friend to give them a rail to Child`s Park. That friend asked one of his friends, 35-year-old Damian Marriott to give the chicks a rail; Marriott agreed.
Investigators say as Marriott was on his way to take the damsels to Child`s park when he determined to stop at a Walmart in south St. Pete to buy a TV. He left the chicks in the car; with the car running. When Marriott returned the chicks had taken the car.
Around Three:30 a.m. Thursday, a deputy spotted the chicks in the one thousand nine hundred ninety Honda Accord driving eastbound without headlights on Sunset Point Road near US Nineteen. That deputy attempted pulling the ladies over but they wouldn`t stop and even ran several crimson lights. The deputy didn`t pursue the teenagers because it did not meet the sheriff department`s criteria for a pursuit.
Another deputy witnessed the car in the area of US nineteen and Ulmerton Road. That`s when deputies confirmed the car was reported stolen out of St. Petersburg. The deputy in an unmarked car monitored the vehicle from a distance.
The chicks continued to drive until reaching Gandy Boulevard and Frontage Road and
entered the cemetery. When deputies arrived the sheriff says the driver of the car sped off through the cemetery to get away from deputies.
We`re told it was so dark outside the teenagers likely couldn`t see they were driving into a pond. Investigators say the car made it almost half way into the pond before it embarked to drown in water fifteen ft. deep.
Deputies attempted to save the damsels, and the Sheriff`s Dive Team was called but it was too late. The chicks drowned. The dive team along with the help of a wrecker pulled the car from the water.
Investigators say it was not clear who was driving the vehicle as the women appeared to have been threw around in the vehicle following the crash. The report said nobody in the car was wearing a seatbelt, but it’s unclear if the teenagers took them off in an attempt to escape the sunken vehicle.
The Sheriff described the number of occurrences of auto thefts by youth from the area of South St. Petersburg – as an epidemic. The Sheriff also said law enforcement would proceed to do its part to suppress this type of criminal activity, to include the work of the Auto Theft Task Force, but stated other ways to combat the problem must be found.
“Solutions need to come deep from within the community. Kids need to know there are consequences. This is a systematic and elaborate problem,” said the Sheriff. “Three dead teenagers is not acceptable,” he added.
The investigation resumes.
Copyright two thousand sixteen Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Three dead found as submerged stolen car pulled from St
Three teenagers dead after submerged stolen car pulled from St. Pete pond
Three teenaged ladies are dead after a stolen car crashed into a pond in the southwest quadrant of I-275 and Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg early Thursday morning.
Three teenaged women are dead after a stolen car crashed into a pond in the southwest quadrant of I-275 and Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg early Thursday morning.
A stolen car sped off the road and into a pond in St. Petersburg Thursday morning.
Three teenaged chicks are dead after crashing a stolen car into a pond in St. Petersburg early Thursday morning. That pond is located on the property of The Royal Palm Cemetery located at two thousand six hundred Gandy Boulevard.
The teenagers are identified as 16-year-old Dominique Battle, 15-year-old Ashaunti Butler, and 15-year-old Laniya Miller. All three had criminal histories including grand theft auto. Combined they had seven grand theft auto charges against them in just the last year.
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Pinellas County Sheriff, Bob Gualtieri, laid out the timeline of events leading up to the crash.
He said the women were draping out near the intersection of 22nd Ave South and 9th St in St. Pete and asked a friend to give them a rail to Child`s Park. That friend asked one of his friends, 35-year-old Damian Marriott to give the chicks a rail; Marriott agreed.
Investigators say as Marriott was on his way to take the women to Child`s park when he determined to stop at a Walmart in south St. Pete to buy a TV. He left the damsels in the car; with the car running. When Marriott returned the chicks had taken the car.
Around Three:30 a.m. Thursday, a deputy spotted the women in the one thousand nine hundred ninety Honda Accord driving eastbound without headlights on Sunset Point Road near US Nineteen. That deputy attempted pulling the women over but they wouldn`t stop and even ran several crimson lights. The deputy didn`t pursue the teenagers because it did not meet the sheriff department`s criteria for a pursuit.
Another deputy spotted the car in the area of US nineteen and Ulmerton Road. That`s when deputies confirmed the car was reported stolen out of St. Petersburg. The deputy in an unmarked car monitored the vehicle from a distance.
The women continued to drive until reaching Gandy Boulevard and Frontage Road and
entered the cemetery. When deputies arrived the sheriff says the driver of the car sped off through the cemetery to get away from deputies.
We`re told it was so dark outside the teenagers likely couldn`t see they were driving into a pond. Investigators say the car made it almost half way into the pond before it commenced to bury in water fifteen ft. deep.
Deputies attempted to save the damsels, and the Sheriff`s Dive Team was called but it was too late. The ladies drowned. The dive team along with the help of a wrecker pulled the car from the water.
Investigators say it was not clear who was driving the vehicle as the women appeared to have been threw around in the vehicle following the crash. The report said nobody in the car was wearing a seatbelt, but it’s unclear if the teenagers took them off in an attempt to escape the sunken vehicle.
The Sheriff described the number of occurrences of auto thefts by youth from the area of South St. Petersburg – as an epidemic. The Sheriff also said law enforcement would proceed to do its part to suppress this type of criminal activity, to include the work of the Auto Theft Task Force, but stated other ways to combat the problem must be found.
“Solutions need to come deep from within the community. Kids need to know there are consequences. This is a systematic and complicated problem,” said the Sheriff. “Three dead teenagers is not acceptable,” he added.
The investigation proceeds.
Copyright two thousand sixteen Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.