Woman charged with child abuse, manslaughter after crash kills toddler, teen in St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - An 18-month-old and a 16-year-old were killed in a crash near Tyrone Square Boulevard and Norfolk Street in St. Petersburg Friday, according to police.

The St. Petersburg Police Department says an 18-year-old woman has now been charged with manslaughter and child abuse.

Investigators say the driver of a 2017 Nissan Rogue tried to pass another car on Tyrone Square Blvd., but lost control and crashed into a tree.

In total, two adults, two children, and two toddlers were inside the vehicle. Both toddlers and one of the juveniles were taken to the hospital, where two of them died: 18-month-old Williah Waller and 16-year-old Mar'rion Heatley.

18-year-old Maliyah Waters was treated at the scene. She was listed as a caregiver to at least one of the children in the vehicle. She was later arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child abuse/aggravated battery with great bodily harm.

According to arrest documents, none of the rear seat safety belts were buckled at the time of the crash.

The crash happened shortly before 1 p.m., closing the roadway for several hours. One officer was seen walking away from the crash scene, holding a child's car seat.

Anyone with information about this crash is asked to call the SPPD non-emergency line at 727-893-7780. 

A previous version of this story stated Maliyah Waters was the driver of the vehicle. St. Petersburg police say clarified that she was not the driver.

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