ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — New developments in a case that killed two St. Petersburg teenagers show the teenage driver behind the wheel has been charged along with her mother.
St. Petersburg Police say 17-year-old Nikia Killens lost control of her mother's car in the early morning of Aug. 6.
Investigators found she didn't have a license and shouldn't have been behind the wheel.
"The car looked like it was just a bunch of crumbling aluminum," Michelle Roberts said.
Her daughter Shaariyah was Killens' friend and a passenger in the car. Roberts says she let her 14-year-old go to the movies that night and thinks the teens were on their way home when the car crashed.
"That was my last time seeing my baby. I didn't know she was unlicensed. She drove the car around everyday," Roberts said.
Brice Lewis was also a passenger in the car and Killens' friend. At 18 years old, his life was cut short instantly.
"I knew it was Brice when I heard the description of who was killed. I was devastated," his mother Alfrieda Lewis said.
Since that day, Lewis has fought for accountability, knowing she'd never see her son again.
"The wait has been long and it's been painful, but I feel relieved that somebody is finally held accountable," Lewis said.
St. Pete Police say DNA evidence placed Killens behind the wheel that night. Court documents show she was unlicensed at the time she lost control of the car and crashed into a pole after speeding.
Killens is charged with two felony counts of driving without a license causing death. Police also charged her mother Eloda Hogan with allowing an unlicensed driver to operate her vehicle causing death.
"Nikia will be charged as an adult with two felonies. The sad part of it all is her mom let her drive knowingly. She knew she didn't have a license and let her get behind the wheel. It's not okay to let someone without a license drive your car," Yolanda Fernandez, a spokesperson for the police department, said.
While two mothers hold the weight of an unbearable pain, they won't let their children die in vain.
"This is a lesson to be learned. As adults, as parents, don't let any unlicensed people drive your vehicles," Roberts said.
Nothing will bring their kids back, but both families plan to be at every court appearance until Killens and her mother are sentenced.