Florida boy, 15, dead and two critically injured after teens crash stolen Maserati into wall
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA: Three teens were involved in a nasty crash after stealing a Maserati with the keys inside in a driveway in northeast Pinellas County early Sunday morning, October 2. One of the teens died after they crashed the car, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Mario Bonilla 15, Malachi Daniels, 16, and Keondrick Lang, 15, were involved in the crash. 15-year-olf Bonilla is dead, and Daniels was in the backseat and is in critical condition. On the other hand, Lang is critically injured but is expected to survive.
The Pinellas County Sheriffs Department explained that Lang broke into the vehicle and drove it at a high speed before crashing into the side of a building. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri stated that the group of boys broke into the vehicle near the neighborhood of 29th Street N and 58th Avenue N, and Lang pulled the door handles with his shirt to avoid fingerprints. After discovering the keys inside the car, the trio jumped in and went for a ride. The three boys were spotted by deputies in a helicopter who were near the area tending to another crime, and arresting a burglary suspect. The other deputies on the ground reported of this vehicle theft-in-progress but the boys had taken off. Lang was the driver, Bonilla was in the front passenger seat and Daniels was in the back, as per FOX13.
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FATAL CRASH: Pinellas Co. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri will hold a press conference at 10AM to discuss a fatal crash involving a stolen vehicle and three male juveniles. As you can see, the car is unrecognizable. More updates to come. pic.twitter.com/QFyBYWCuDb
— Regina Gonzalez FOX 13 (@ReginaGFOX13) October 2, 2022
Sheriff Gualtieri explained that the office has a policy of not chasing the vehicle on roadways but the way the boys were driving the vehicle was as if they were being chased. The helicopter tracked its movement until the crash. Gualtieri said on Sunday, October 2, "We talk about this all the time. 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. These are young kids, they're inexperienced drivers, no drivers' licenses, driving 3.30 in the morning [at] 80mph." The car crashed into the side of a 2-business building along 62nd Ave N, across from the Winn-Dixie. The owner of the vehicle has been notified and the investigation is underway.
Gualtieri continued talking about the teenagers who were previously stopped by deputies in Kenneth City on September 11. He said, "These kids were on that bad path." Gualtieri explained how the parents of one teen thought their child was still in bed at that time of the night saying, ''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. You gotta feel for these parents because they know the issues you got with 15, and 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." He said how one teen's parents were trying to correct his bad behavior and even transferred him to a new school for a fresh start.