3 St. Pete Girls Killed When Stolen Car Crashed Into Pond

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Three St. Petersburg teenagers are dead after Pinellas County Sheriff’s Deputies say they crashed a stolen Honda Accord into a pond a Royal Palm Cemetery Thursday morning.

Deputies have identified the girls as Dominique M. Battle, 16, Ashaunti N. Butler, 15, and Laniya D. Miller, 15. All three were St. Petersburg residents. All three also had lengthy criminal histories, the sheriff’s office wrote in an email to media.

“The girls all had criminal records to include seven grand theft auto charges against them in just the last year,” the email said.

The encounter with the teens began to unfold early Thursday when a deputy spotted the Accord heading east on Sunset Point Road near U.S. 19.

"The vehicle did not have its headlights on," the email said. "The deputy activated emergency equipment, and then deactivated as the incident did not meet the criteria for a pursuit."

The vehicle reportedly ran through a stoplight and was spotted again by another deputy in the area of U.S. 19 and Ulmerton Road. The deputy, the email said, confirmed the vehicle had been stolen out of St. Petersburg. The deputy monitored the vehicle, the agency reported, from a distance in an unmarked car.

"The vehicle continued until it reached Gandy and Frontage Road and entered the cemetery," the email said.

The vehicle continued towards the back of a cemetery and ran into the pond, the sheriff's office said. Conditions, the agency noted, were dark and "it is possible the driver thought it could exit onto the highway."

The dive team was called out Thursday morning and pulled three bodies from the submerged vehicle, the sheriff's office said. All three girls were found inside the car. Detectives say it is unclear which girl was driving as “the girls appeared to have been tossed around in the vehicle following the crash.”

Deputies say the girls stole the vehicle from Damian Marriott, 35, of St. Petersburg after he gave them a ride.

“Investigators say Marriott was going to take them to Child's Park,” the email said. “Deputies say, however, that Marriott first stopped at the Walmart store located in south St. Petersburg to buy a TV. He left the girls in the car with the vehicle running, and when he returned the girls had taken the car.”

The investigation remains ongoing.

Image via Shutterstock

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