FHP searching for truck involved in deadly Seminole crash

SEMINOLE (FOX 13) - A night after a deadly crash in Pinellas County, Florida Highway Patrol continues searching for a third driver who was involved but sped off.

It happened Monday night around 6:30, at 102nd Avenue North and 97th Street North in Seminole.

One thing troopers know for sure is two trucks were speeding when one of them crashed into a sedan, killing 20-year-old Hailey Mullen and critically injuring her grandmother, Ann Marie DeSocio.

Those who live nearby say they heard a sound that sadly, they know all too well.

"I heard this loud banging," said Courtney Chen. "Not surprising because it happens all the time."

FHP says a Lexus sedan was driving east, down 102nd Avenue North in Seminole. As the driver, 74-year-old Ann Marie DeSocio tried to make a left turn onto 97th Street North, under a green light, FHP says two pickup trucks were traveling west "at a high rate of speed."

One of the trucks slammed into the passenger side of DeSocio's car, flipping several times, according to witnesses. FHP says the second truck, which also may have hit DeSocio's car, sped off.

DeSocio was critically injured. Her granddaughter was the front passenger; 20-year-old Hailey Mullen died at the scene.

The man in the truck that hit DeSocio's sedan, 53-year-old Luciano Gomes, suffered serious injuries.

"It was pretty shocking actually to see something like that," said Dan Buetzow, who saw the aftermath. "Growing up in this area, just the way that bend is in the road, you have to be more cautious, people that are driving that fast going down there, it can be a dangerous thing coming in and out of that neighborhood."

Neighbors say 102nd Avenue North, at times, sounds more like race track than a road.

"At night, people race to beat the lights," Chen said.

Less than two weeks ago, FHP says a motorcyclist was speeding west on 120nd when he hit a bicyclist, a crash that badly injured both men.

A memorial sits at the intersection as a daily reminder of 31-year-old U.S. Marine Matthew DerRemer who was killed New Year's Eve of 2015 when a drunk driver crashed into his motorcycle.

The latest life lost here is a 20-year-old woman whose Facebook page says she was studying to teach those with visual disabilities.

If drivers won't slow down, neighbors hope changes on the road, itself, will force them to. 

"That's so sad, you know," Chen said. "I really hope something comes out of this because it's too much. Too much."

The main focus right now is tracking down that third vehicle, the truck that sped from the scene. A witness said he tried telling the driver to stop, but the driver wouldn't listen.

FHP describes that truck as a green Chevy Silverado pickup truck with dark tinted windows. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the FHP by calling 813-558-1800 or *FHP.