FHP: 2 women, unborn baby killed after chase through Lake County ends in head-on crash

Deputies deploy stop sticks before fatal wreck

MASCOTTE, Fla. – A chase through multiple Central Florida cities ended in a head-on crash Thursday night in Mascotte that left two women dead, one of whom was pregnant, deputies said.

Authorities identified the women as Mylynda Martinez, 27, who was pregnant, and Kimberly King, 46. Troopers said on Friday afternoon there are three confirmed deaths in the crash.

Detectives said the incident started in the Bassfield Park area, where Lake County crime units were watching a suspected drug house. Martinez left the house in a white car, and deputies began following her, officials said.

Deputies said Martinez ran a stop sign and led them on a chase through Leesburg, where police tried to help stop her by twice deploying stop sticks.  She was able to get around them, however, and keep driving, deputies said..

She then entered the Mascotte city limits, where police deployed another set of stop sticks, according to officials. Martinez's car crashed head-on into a black sport utility vehicle driven by King, who was traveling north on County Road 33.

Neighbors said emergency crews performed CPR on King, who was taken to a hospital and later died.

File: READ Lake County policy on pursuits

Martinez was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

"The SUV flipped three times up in the air and ... dropped back on the car," witness Lotian Johnson said.

"It was just bad. It was bad," witness Charsteen Johnson said. "You're thinking, 'Oh my God. You know they're dead.'"

Detectives said two of the tires on the suspect's car blew out, but they're still investigating whether the stop sticks caused her to crash. Troopers said preliminary information shows that at least one of the tires were impacted by the stop sticks.

"The traffic congestion was light, especially in this area. It's a very rural area, as you can see, so the setting was good for deploying stop sticks," Lake County sheriff's Lt. John Herrell said. "Deputies are authorized (to use stop sticks) to pursue, as long as they believe a crime is being committed."

Herrell said an investigation is ongoing.

"She was taking active, evasive maneuvers to miss the stop sticks and that's why it went on as long as it did," he said. "This is not anything we ever want to see, and I think that goes without saying. This is terrible. It's tragic, and we hate that this happened."

"She was the sweetest person," said Roberta, a family friend of Kimberly King. "I'm very sad for the family, the innocent family that lost a loved one."

She told us not only is she sad, but she's angry about how it all ended, feeling today that it could have all been prevented.

"They should have stopped it back in Leesburg where it started?," she added.

Lt. John Herrell with the Lake County Sheriff's Office says that any crime, even one as simple as a traffic violation, justifies deputies in engaging in a police chase according to department policy.

"Our goal was to get this person off the roads and in jail and we just really hate that it turned out this way. I can't say that enough," Herrell said.

The question News 6 had for Herrell, though, was: Should deputies have backed off earlier?

"If at any point in the pursuit, the hazards outweigh the importance of stopping the violator, they need to stop it and break it off," he said. "That did not happen and, obviously, that's is going to be a part of the ongoing review."

Five Lake County sheriff's deputies have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Authorities said the move is standard procedure when there's an investigation into a death, shooting or incident causing great bodily harm.


About the Authors:

Dawn Jorgenson, Graham Media Group Branded Content Managing Editor, began working with the group in April 2013. She graduated from Texas State University with a degree in electronic media.

Troy Blevins is a Digital Content Editor who has been with Graham Media Group since 2012.

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