ST. PETERSBURG -- A St. Petersburg family's house and car were destroyed Saturday morning by a fire that a 4-year-old boy started while playing with a cigarette lighter, fire officials said.

All four adults and five children escaped from the house at 3242 16th Ave. S, owned by Linda Dennies.

The 4-year-old found the lighter, began playing with it and set a mattress on fire, said Lt. Chris Bengivengo, a St. Petersburg Fire spokesman. The fire then spread throughout the house. The blaze's heat set the car on fire.

Eight units and about 15 firefighters responded to the fire just before 9 a.m. Saturday. It took them a half-hour to get the fire under control. Bengivengo estimated damage at $40,000.

The Red Cross is providing shelter to the family.

"We were very lucky that nine people escaped this rapidly spreading fire without injury," Bengivengo said.

Names of dead, injured released in six-car crash

TAMPA -- Investigators of a six-car crash Friday on N Dale Mabry Highway have identified those who were killed or injured in the wrecks. All were Tampa residents.

Tyron L. Williams, 19, died at the scene of the 6 p.m. accident just north of Fletcher Avenue, said Traffic Homicide Investigator John Duran of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Williams was a passenger in a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban driven by 37-year-old Althea Williams-Gonzalez.

She and 20-year-old Mario Perez were airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital. Williams-Gonzalez was in stable condition Saturday afternoon. The hospital had no information about Perez.

Duran said the accident started when Williams-Gonzalez sideswiped a car while traveling south on Dale Mabry. She then swerved sharply in the other direction, sending the Suburban into a spin that put it in the path of northbound traffic. It was hit by three cars.

Driver in serious condition after being thrown from car

TAMPA -- The driver of a car speeding north on the Suncoast Parkway early Saturday lost control of the vehicle and was thrown through the rear window as it rolled, officials say. Tara Lynn Jahn, 25, was in serious condition Saturday afternoon at Tampa General Hospital.

Jahn, a Spring Hill resident, was driving a 1999 Pontiac at 90 to 100 mph when the car struck the barrier wall on the east side of the northbound lanes just south of Lutz Lake Fern Road, said Deputy James Boyle of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The car then slid through the two northbound lanes into the median and began spinning clockwise. The two left tires dug into the sod, causing the car to roll twice. It came to rest with the rear of the car on the guard rail.

Man shoots wife, two children in murder-suicide

MIAMI -- Police have identified a 70-year-old man who killed himself after he fatally shot his wife, young son and daughter.

Sidifredo Rodriguez killed his wife, Maria Rodriguez, 36, and children, Anthony, 5, and America, 7, at their home Friday night, police said.

Investigators said Rodriguez discovered in December that his wife was having an extramarital affair, and their 18-year marriage gradually began to erode.

Neighbors said they saw Maria Rodriguez and one of her children on the couch watching television at 9:45 p.m. Friday. Fifteen minutes later they heard gunshots and called 911.

Neighbors reported hearing two children yelling "Papi no! Papi no!"

All four family members had fatal gunshot wounds to the head.

Unmarried couples bill earns victoryin state high court

TALLAHASSEE -- A Broward County ordinance that has allowed gay and straight unmarried couples to formalize their relationships has withstood another challenge.

The Florida Supreme Court refused Friday to consider an appeal by a conservative legal foundation asking it to declare the ordinance in violation of the state's Defense of Marriage Act. The law prohibits legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

Lawyers for Viriginia-based Northstar Legal Center said they would not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. They said critics could push state legislators to outlaw such ordinances or seek a referendum to overturn the ordinance at the ballot box.

The ordinance has allowed more than 1,000 unmarried gay and straight couples to receive some marriage benefits.

Boy, 6, takes gun, threatens officer, authorities say

TAMPA -- A 6-year-old preschooler grabbed a security officer's gun and threatened him during a struggle to stop the boy from running off campus at a center serving disturbed children, officials said.

No one was injured in the incident at the Mendez Center, which schools emotionally disabled and disturbed children up to fifth grade.

As officer Charles Simon pursued the child, the strap on the holster came loose, said Mark Hart, Hillsborough County School spokesman.

"The child was able to reach over and grab the gun. He never pointed the weapon, but he did make a threat," Hart said. He did not disclose the nature of the threat.

Simon subdued the youngster and took back his 9mm service revolver, according to a police report.

The boy -- whose name was not released because of his age -- was suspended for 10 days, but the school district is not pressing for criminal charges because of the boy's "exceptionality," Hart said. Normally, a student committing such an offense would be recommended for reassignment or expulsion.

Police will refer the case to the state attorney's office for a decision on whether to bring charges.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk