Man charged in crash that kills child, 5

A 5-year-old girl died Saturday afternoon, less than a day after a pickup truck driven by a drunken man slammed into a minivan in which she, three other children and two adults were riding, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

Lilly Mills died at Tampa General Hospital at about 5 p.m., the patrol reported.

The woman, man and other children in the minivan also were injured, patrol officials said.

Three other vehicles also were involved in the wreck at the intersection of U.S. 301 and Bloomingdale Avenue.

The driver of the pickup, Rolando Rojas, 52, of 1220 E. Crenshaw St., initially was charged with two counts of driving under the influence with serious bodily injury, said patrol Trooper J. Cohen.

When Lilly died, one of those charges was upgraded to driving under the influence with manslaughter, said Sgt. Steve Gaskins, a patrol spokesman.

Rojas was not seriously hurt.

Rojas was driving north on U.S. 301 in a 1999 Ford Ranger at 9:37 p.m. Friday when he tried to pass between two vehicles that were stopped for traffic south of Bloomingdale Avenue.

While trying to squeeze between a Nissan Altima in the outside lane and a Honda Civic in the center lane, Rojas sideswiped both cars, Cohen said.

Rojas' pickup then continued into the intersection, where it smashed into the passenger side of a 2002 Chrysler van driven by Samantha Anne Populin, 25, Cohen said.

Populin is the mother of Lilly and one other child in the van, Gaskins said.

The pickup then rolled over and hit the passenger side of a Ford Mustang, Cohen said.

The patrol identified the man in the minivan as Paul Wilson Mills, 29. The three surviving children were Kayla Marie Mills, 10; Audrey Mills, 7; and Sophia Evy Mills, 2.

Paul Mills, Audrey Mills and Sophia Mills were listed in fair condition at Tampa General Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said. Samantha Populin and Kayla Mills were treated and released, she said.

Rojas had minor injuries. The patrol reported today that he was being kept overnight at Tampa General Hospital. The drivers and occupants of the other vehicles were not hurt.

Authorities still are investigating the crash.