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Teens in wreck tangled with law
By LEANORA MINAI © St. Petersburg Times, published August 24, 2000 ST. PETERSBURG -- The story of three teenage girls involved in a fatal wreck in a stolen car is a troubled and sometimes violent account of young women from impoverished back-grounds who wound up at odds with parents, schools and the law. Elizabeth Diane Smith, the 16-year-old who died behind the wheel Tuesday when the stolen Lexus collided with a dump truck, was arrested last year for stealing a car. She dropped out of high school. Her front seat passenger, Shumeca Keio Hall, 14, has been arrested for domestic battery and auto theft. She ran away from a girl's shelter. The back seat passenger, Nikia Truitt, 13, ran away when she was 7 and had her first run-in with the law three years ago. She has been living with her grandmother. "The home life is not there," said St. Petersburg Detective Richard Crater, who is investigating the theft of the Lexus. "There is not the parental guidance or structure at home." The girls, all residents of St. Petersburg, are suspected of stealing the Lexus from a gas station at 1:57 a.m. Tuesday and crashing into a city dump truck during a high-speed Florida Highway Patrol pursuit 10 hours later. The tragedy also points to a growing problem with juveniles stealing cars in St. Petersburg. More and more children are stealing vehicles to joyride, and the city has spent $37,331 on officer overtime in the past three months to fight the trend. St. Petersburg police say that the number of car thefts is up nearly 28 percent so far this year compared with the same time period last year. And juveniles account for slightly more than half of the thefts. "It's a popular thing for juveniles to be seen, to be recognized that they've been in a stolen car as a passenger or a driver," said Maj. Reggie Oliver. No charges have been filed in Tuesday's wreck. Detectives have been unable to question Hall and Truitt, the survivors, who were being treated Wednesday at Bayfront Medical Center. The Highway Patrol said Wednesday that the trooper pursuing the Lexus did not cause the crash at 26th Avenue S and 22nd Street. An in-house inquiry is under way to determine whether Cpl. Gary Schluter violated the agency's chase policy. "What caused the crash was the manner in which the young lady was driving the car," said FHP Maj. Morris Leggett. Troopers can pursue a car if they know a violent offense has occurred, he said. But not everyone agrees with FHP. Betty Smith, the mother of the girl who was killed in the crash, said the Highway Patrol should not have been chasing the car. "Please, ask them how they would like for one of theirs to be chased down and killed," she said outside her apartment. "Even if the car was stolen, there was no reason to chase her." She said she did not know about a stolen Lexus and last saw her daughter walking away from their apartment at 11 a.m. Tuesday -- just 45 minutes before the crash. Her daughter was scheduled to be at her Publix cashier's job at 1:30 p.m., she said. "She told me she'd be right back," said the mother. She said her daughter quit Boca Ciega High School but planned on enrolling at Dixie Hollins on Wednesday. "She was a good child," the mother said. She said she was nominated a few years ago for "Young Girl American Beauty Pageant" at Boca Ciega High School, but that the family did not have the $200 to enroll her in the competition. "It was an honor knowing she could have been." Smith's sister, Vanessa Smith, said her sister got along with everybody and hung out Tuesday and Friday nights at Club 1901 on Central Ave. She said her sister would not steal a car. "She'll help drive it, but she ain't going to actually steal it herself," said the 19-year-old sister. In fact, Smith was arrested and charged in July 1999 for stealing a red 1988 Sterling in St. Petersburg. The owner left the keys on an outside step. Smith took them and returned the next day and drove away in the car, police said. She was arrested two days later and charged with vehicle theft, said St. Petersburg police Maj. Oliver. An arrest warrant was issued for her after she failed to show up for a court date. The warrant was outstanding when she died. Smith's passengers, Hall and Truitt, also have had trouble with the law. Hall, whose last known address was Hope House, a shelter for girls in St. Petersburg, has been arrested and charged with commercial burglary, domestic battery and auto theft since 1998, records show. She was in critical condition at Bayfront. Her family could not be reached for comment. The other passenger, Truitt, was put under house arrest in April, and it was unclear Wednesday whether that still was in effect, Oliver said. She started running away when she was 7 years old. Since 1997, she has been arrested on burglary, battery, shoplifting and larceny charges, records show. A student at Madeira Beach Middle School, she had surgery Wednesday for a broken leg and arm. Her grandmother, Johnnie Truitt, said Wednesday the teenager has been living with her because she did not want her granddaughter to go to a foster home. "Her momma is sick," she said. The FHP will complete its inquiry into the pursuit in about three weeks. St. Petersburg investigators today plan to interview Wilburt Wallace, 46, the man who picked up the three girls shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday. He told police he picked the girls up on the corner of 16th Street S because they needed a ride. They stopped at a gas station so Wallace could buy cigarettes. When he walked out the store, he told police, the car was gone. He reported it stolen minutes later. Wallace has been arrested since 1982 on charges ranging from grand theft to aggravated and domestic battery. - Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report.
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