Woman charged with child abuse, manslaughter after crash kills toddler, teen in St. Pete
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - An 18-month-old and a 16-year-old were killed in a crash near Tyrone Square Boulevard and Norfolk Street in St. Petersburg Friday, according to police.
The St. Petersburg Police Department says an 18-year-old woman has now been charged with manslaughter and child abuse.
Investigators say the driver of a 2017 Nissan Rogue tried to pass another car on Tyrone Square Blvd., but lost control and crashed into a tree.
![tyrone-blvd-accident.jpg](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox32chicago.com/www.fox32chicago.com/content/uploads/2021/07/932/524/tyrone-blvd-accident.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
In total, two adults, two children, and two toddlers were inside the vehicle. Both toddlers and one of the juveniles were taken to the hospital, where two of them died: 18-month-old Williah Waller and 16-year-old Mar'rion Heatley.
18-year-old Maliyah Waters was treated at the scene. She was listed as a caregiver to at least one of the children in the vehicle. She was later arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child abuse/aggravated battery with great bodily harm.
![st pete crash tyrone children involved (1)](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox32chicago.com/www.fox32chicago.com/content/uploads/2021/07/932/524/b42a36f4-st-pete-crash-tyrone-children-involved-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
According to arrest documents, none of the rear seat safety belts were buckled at the time of the crash.
The crash happened shortly before 1 p.m., closing the roadway for several hours. One officer was seen walking away from the crash scene, holding a child's car seat.
Anyone with information about this crash is asked to call the SPPD non-emergency line at 727-893-7780.
A previous version of this story stated Maliyah Waters was the driver of the vehicle. St. Petersburg police say clarified that she was not the driver.
UPDATES: Get news alerts and updates in the free FOX 13 News app