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Underage Driver Kills 5-Year-Old In Crash

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By RAY REYES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 29, 2008

Updated: 05/29/2008 12:23 am

ST. PETERSBURG - Retrieving schoolbooks from a Volkswagen but then attempting to drive it, a teenage girl pinned a 5-year-old boy against a wall and crushed him to death, police said Wednesday night.

As police investigated, neighbors at the apartment complex where the accident occurred stood in shock. Some sobbed and shouted from second-floor balconies.

Others looked in disbelief at the crashed car, which had been driven over a curb and came to rest with its rear bumper pressed against the wall.

As the car was lurching forward, the teen struck a wall, knocking out several concrete blocks, witnesses said. When she put the car in reverse, she struck the boy, who was sitting on a planter, said Jason Fields, 17, who lives at the complex.

"I saw the little girl hit the little boy, man," he said.

The car struck the boy in the torso and pinned him against the wall. The child's feet were dangling off the ground, Fields said.

The girl appeared as if she wanted to press on the brake but instead stomped on the gas, he said.

"Whatever she didn't do right, it didn't go right," Fields said. "We kept telling her to back up; the boy couldn't breathe."

The boy was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police did not release the name of the boy or the girl Wednesday night.

Family members told News Channel 8 that the victim was Kevon Wilson. They described him as an outgoing, energetic, very bright boy who always was smiling.

"The little boy was just hanging out," Fields said.

Investigators said the teen went to her mother's Volkswagen Cabrio to get her books about 7 p.m. She then began driving the car through the parking lot of Pinellas Point Apartments, 2175 62nd Ave. S.

Witnesses at the apartment complex said the girl is in eighth grade. They said another girl was with her as she attempted to drive the car and that they were blasting music and trying to dance while driving.

"The girl was pretending she was a grown lady, playing music," said Javarius McClendon, a cousin of the victim.

Witnesses said the girl ran from the car after the crash, but police found her in about an hour.

St. Petersburg traffic homicide investigators were on the scene late Wednesday and had not announced any charges.

A police spokesman said results of the investigation would not be released until today.

News Channel 8 videographer Chris Coyner and reporter Krista Klaus contributed to this report. Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920 or rreyes@tampatrib.com. Stay with us today to continue following this story with updates, video reports and

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