After stealing a Maserati with the keys still in the ignition in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, a teenager died, and his companions are in severe condition.
Florida officials reported on Sunday that 15-year-old Mario Bonilla died early that morning in the catastrophic collision. Malachi Daniels, 16, is in critical condition after being in the back seat when the fancy automobile tipped over.
Keondrick Lang, 15, the driver of the car, is likely to live.
Lang broke into the unlocked Maserati and crashed it into the side of a building at great speed. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department is still investigating the deadly accident.
They are expected to release dashcam and helicopter footage of the deadly crash at another press conference on Tuesday.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said on Sunday that officers in a helicopter traveling over the area on their route to arrest another suspect witnessed the youngsters steal the Maserati at 3.20 a.m.
According to deputies, Lang was using his shirt to pull door knobs on automobiles parked in St. Petersburg to avoid leaving fingerprints when he noticed an unlocked Maserati on a driveway.
After he unlocked the automobile door, investigators say, Lang noticed that the keys were still inside, and he and his pals hopped inside the car.
‘We talk about this all the time,’ Gualtieri said. ‘People really need to lock their car doors, and don’t leave your keys in the car, but they do.
‘And when these kids are out in the middle of the night, and they’re stealing and breaking into cars, that’s what they’re looking for.’
The deputies in the air immediately alerted their counterparts on the ground, who attempted to apprehend the youths before they fled.
But Lang had already taken off, with ground troops trailing behind it and flashing their emergency lights.
The adolescent then allegedly anticipated the officers would pursue him and drove away at 80 mph with no headlights.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, unbeknownst to Lang, has a policy of not engaging in road chases, and they were then chased by the helicopter, which maintained track of their movements from the air.
Deputies in the helicopter then observed Lang lose control of the vehicle, go over a curb, hit the side of a two-story building on 62nd Avenue, and overturn the luxury automobile.
‘These are young kids, they’re inexperienced drivers, no drivers’ licenses, driving 3.30 in the morning [at] 80mph,’ Gualtieri explained.
He stated that arriving cops provided quick help to the suspects, but Bonilla was declared dead at the site.
Daniels, who was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries, may also not live, Gualtieri said during the press conference.
Lang was also taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but he is likely to live.
Meanwhile, the automobile owner was alerted of the accident.
Authorities then discovered that the three teenagers were apprehended by deputies in Kenneth City on September 11 after being seen strolling through a private area in the early morning hours.
The children’s parents were contacted then, and the adolescents were taken home.
‘These kids were on that bad path,’ Gualtieri said at Sunday’s news conference.
He explained that the parents seemed upset about the incident this morning, claiming that they had assumed their children were still in bed at the time.
”One of the kids shared a room with a younger sibling, and from what I understand, from the deputies talking to the parents this morning, is that the younger sibling didn’t even know he left,’ Gualtieri said.
He observed that the parents had been attempting to modify their boys’ conduct, with one recently relocating their kid to a nearby school for a fresh start.
‘You gotta feel for these parents because they know the issues you got with 15, 16-year-old kids. They’re trying to do something about it, trying to be aware of it, and the kid sneaks out.
‘Sometimes bad things are going to happen.’