A stolen car pursuit ended Tuesday in Polk City with a fiery single-car crash. A teenage girl, Milaya Cooper, 15, of Plant City, died as a result of the crash.
- Milaya Cooper, 15, in stolen car dies after injuries sustained in pursuit
- Driver, 16, arrested after Tuesday's pursuit
- Officers pulled both teens out of crashed car
Cooper's aunt, Octavia Brown, called Milaya "a sweet girl" and said she had aspirations of becoming a veterinarian. Milaya was a freshman at Durant High School in Plant City.
Brown said Milaya mother's was actually in surgery at the hospital when the crash happened. She said Milaya was not allowed to date and was not supposed to be seeing the boy she was in the car with.
The incident was all captured on police dashcam, which was released Wednesday.
According to Lakeland police, the incident started with a vehicle being stolen out of Plant City.
Plant City police requested help from Lakeland police just before 3 p.m. in reference to a vehicle on Interstate 4. Police said the driver of the stolen car tried to ram officers at least once.
Minutes later, a Lakeland police officer spotted the stolen 2012 Kia Forte at a gas station at 4275 Lakeland Hills Boulevard.
Officer Scott Hutton tried to stop the driver, who sped off northbound on State Road 33, police said. At 2:57 p.m., the Kia crashed at a high rate of speed at Commonwealth Avenue and Deen Still Road in Polk City. The Kia veered off the road, struck a sign and then hit a pine tree.
Hutton quickly dragged out the driver, a 16-year-old boy, police said. However, he did not know a 15-year-old girl was in the backseat, officials said.
As the vehicle caught fire, police managed to reach the girl and pull her out also. However, she died Wednesday at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Lakeland police released a response via Facebook to the pursuit video and crash:
"We certainly feel for the family and by posting this, we hope others can see than dangers that are involved with a pursuit," the statement read. "The danger to innocent citizens, the driver and/ or passenger and to the officers involved."
Police said the teen driver resisted arrest after he was pulled from the car and did not mention the girl was still inside the vehicle. She was trapped in the car for at least three minutes while it was on fire.
Octavia Brown said she saw the video and didn't have a comment about it. She said the family is still gathering the facts and called it an "unfortunate event."
The driver, whose name is not being listed due to his age (in accordance with Bay News 9 crime guidelines), is recovering at an area hospital.
He will face charges of aggravated assault and battery on a law enforcement officer, along with three counts of fleeing to elude.