Fatal Hillsborough crash involving minors, stolen car and police chase being investigated

Michaela Mulligan, Tampa Bay Times
·2 min read

TAMPA — The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office will investigate a fatal crash that happened during a Tampa police pursuit of four minors driving a stolen vehicle, acting Tampa police Chief Mary O’Connor said Monday.

Police attempted to conduct a traffic stop of a stolen Nissan at 10:45 p.m. Saturday, the agency said in a news release Sunday. However, the driver fled and a chase ensued, police said.

The driver of the Nissan drove east on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, toward Plant City, the release said. The driver then headed south on Turkey Creek Road, where the Nissan rear-ended a Honda and pushed it into a telephone pole, police said.

The three people in the Honda were taken to an area hospital, where a 44-year-old woman died from her injuries, police said. A 24-year-old woman remained in critical condition Monday, and a 30-year-old male was in stable condition, O’Connor said.

The Nissan was occupied by four boys — one 15-year-old, two 14-year-olds and a 12-year-old, police said. All four were treated for minor injuries and released.

“This is no video game — this is real life, with real lives at stake,” O’Connor said during a news conference.

The Sheriff’s Office will handle the crash investigation, while the Tampa Police Department will conduct an internal investigation into the events leading up to the crash, she said.

The Tampa police officer’s decision to pursue the boys appears to be justified because they were driving a stolen vehicle, O’Connor said. Supervisors continually monitor officers while they’re in pursuit of suspects to assess the threat to public safety, she added.

Two of the four minors had been arrested five days earlier on charges related to what O’Connor described as “stealing and burglarizing” another vehicle. The two boys were on home detention, O’Connor said.

“To say it is disturbing for them to again be driving a stolen vehicle is quite an understatement,” O’Connor said.

Those two boys continue to be on home detention based on their previous charges, but none have been arrested in connection to the events on Saturday night, O’Connor said. Charges related to that are pending the outcome of the Sheriff’s Office’s investigation, she said.

“TPD offers many programs geared up to help our youth,” O’Connor said. “But we can’t do this alone. We need parents, the community and the faith-based community to help us with this.”