18-Year-Old Woman in St. Petersburg Arrested for Vehicular Homicide After Crash That Killed Two Teens
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St. Petersburg, FL (2/28/2020) – Police arrested a driver on Thursday who killed two teenagers in a crash on I-275 in February. Erinasha Jania Porshay Jones, 18, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail and is being held with a $200,000 bail.
The accident occurred at 6:20 a.m. on February 8. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Jones was driving north on I-275 in her 2003 Toyota Camry with two passengers, 17-year-old Keeoshia Edwards and 16-year-old Jiana Minaya. Meanwhile, 38-year-old Ernesto Leon was also driving his 2008 Chevrolet Silverado north with his 33-year-old passenger Juan Alvarez.
When the Camry approached the 22nd Avenue North exit, Jones attempted to cross multiple lanes of traffic to get on the exit ramp. While doing so, she drove into the path of the Silverado and hit the driver’s side of the truck.
The Camry spun out, went off the shoulder of the exit ramp, and crashed into two trees. Emergency responders took the three occupants of the Camry to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg with serious injuries. Edwards and Minaya later died at the hospital. The two men in the Silverado did not sustain any injuries.
Troopers did a blood test on Jones and found that her blood alcohol content was 0.066, which is just below the legal limit of 0.08. They also noted that her clothes smelled like marijuana. Troopers presented the evidence to a circuit judge, who signed a warrant for Jones’ arrest. She now faces two counts of vehicular homicide.
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Our hearts go out to all of those impacted by this tragedy. Car accidents like this one occur far too often in Florida. It’s essential that car accidents be thoroughly investigated so that the cause of the collision can be understood, and the responsible party can be identified and, if warranted, held accountable.
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Source: Tampa Bay Times