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Motorcycle driver, owner arrested in crash that killed 13-year-old in St. Pete

Police say the motorcycle driver and owner both turned themselves in to the Pinellas County Jail on Wednesday night.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two more people have been arrested in connection to a motorcycle street racing crash that killed a 13-year-old boy in St. Petersburg.

The accident happened just after 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, on 28th Street North near 110th Avenue North.

Investigators say 35-year-old Johnny Martin brought his son, Ethan, to the illegal street racing event where the teen crossed 28th Street into the path of a motorcycle going more than 100 mph.

Ethan was hit and killed in the crash, which also injured the motorcycle driver and a bystander.

According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, Carlos Fernandez, the motorcycle driver, and Allan Boreland Jr., the owner of the motorcycle, both turned themselves into the Pinellas County Jail on Wednesday night.

Fernandez, 21, is facing multiple charges, including manslaughter and vehicular homicide.

Boreland, 39, was charged with manslaughter and street racing as a spectator.  

Johnny Martin, the boy's father, was arrested last week. He is facing a felony charge of child neglect and a violation for street racing as a spectator.

Ethan's mother, Francis Simpson, spoke to 10 Tampa Bay on Thursday while staying with family in Texas. 

"I still can't believe it, I can't," Simpson said. "He's gone. My body is empty. My body is dead."

According to Simpson, the 13-year-old was filled with love for his family and friends.

"I miss when he came to me and tell me, 'I love you, momma, I love you momma all the time,'" Simpson said.

Simpson said she has a strained relationship with Ethan's father, Johnny Martin, and didn't know her son was going to an illegal street racing event.

"My son was having a future. They got in his future. I don't understand why his dad took him," Simpson said.

Illegal street racing in St. Petersburg has the full attention of the police.

Sergeant Michael Schade with the St. Pete Traffic Department said, "It's definitely more prevalent now than it has been in the past years because they use social media to get their message out about where it's going to be."

Now, police are also using social media and eyewitness reports and other resources to stop the races before tragedy strikes again.  

"This was definitely one of the worst scenes I've seen in my 19-year career and I don't want to see it again," Schade said. 

Simpson's cousin created a GoFundMe to help with expenses as the family grieves Ethan's death. If you'd like to donate, click here. 

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