AUBURNDALE, Fla. — A 5-year-old girl died after the Kia she was riding in crashed into an Auburndale police pickup truck at an intersection along Magnolia Avenue in Auburndale.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office has identified the girl as 5-year-old Jalina Anglin.
The crash happened around 10 p.m. Saturday. The Auburndale PD truck driver had turned on its lights and sirens and was heading to assist a deputy involved in a fight further down the avenue, the department said.
According to witnesses, the Kia driver — later identified as Jalina's mother Jer'Manica Anglin — had stopped at a red light at the intersection, but when the light turned green, traffic stayed stopped for the approaching police truck.
Anglin later told detectives that she heard the police sirens, but when the vehicle next to her moved forward, she started to drive into the intersection. At that point, the Kia crossed into the police truck's path and the two vehicles crashed.
The Auburndale sergeant wasn't hurt, but Anglin suffered a broken wrist. Jalina, who was riding in the backseat, was pronounced dead at the hospital she was taken to. Whether or not the child was wearing her seatbelt is still under investigation.
The investigation is continuing, and no criminal charges are expected. The Polk County Sheriff's Office has taken over the investigation due to the Auburndale sergeant's involvement in the crash.