*Update:
Further information on the vehicular crash was given at a press conference held this past Monday, March 14.
Chief Mary O’Connor of the Tampa Police Department explained how the judicial system handles these cases in regards to juveniles.
She stated that, “the sanctions come from the courts. So, the sanctions for curfew or home detention do come directly from judges.
“The onus on making sure the children are at home during home detention falls on the Department of Juvenile Justice [and] probation officers, but we at Tampa PD also assist with those efforts. There’s a lot of kids that are on court-ordered sanctions and we can check on them being at home at 11 p.m., but it’s not to say that they’re not going to be home – out committing crimes at midnight.”
Two of the teens were arrested just five days prior to the incident for the exact same crime – stealing and burglarizing a vehicle. Both had been placed on home detention.
A third teen had been arrested in January for similar charges.
Two are currently on home detention from the previous burglary. All have pending charges based on the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office investigation.
None of the suspects are in custody. (End of update)
A vehicle of juveniles who led police on a high-speed chase, resulted in the death of a woman, in Plant City.
This came after authorities located a stolen Nissan vehicle at the intersection of 26th Street and Chelsea Avenue, in Tampa, on Saturday, March 12.
It occurred around 10:45 p.m. and officers attempted a traffic stop when the driver took off.
The vehicle headed eastbound on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. towards Plant City.
The driver turned southbound on Turkey Creek Road and slammed into a Honda sedan at Trapnell Road, sending the vehicle into a telephone pole.
The three occupants in the Honda were taken to the hospital where a 44-year-old female passenger had succumbed to her injuries and died.
The male suspects in the Nissan were a 12-year-old, two 14-year-olds, and a 15-year-old.
Two were taken to the hospital.
The other two victims in the Honda were a 24-year-old female who is in critical condition and a 30-year-old male in stable condition.
The crash is currently under investigation.