Lakeland mother, 2 children, killed in crash that sent 3 others to hospital: Police

LAKELAND, Fla. - Three family members, including a six-year-old and a 13-year-old, are dead following a crash in Lakeland Monday night, according to police.

According to the Lakeland Police Department, a car carrying two siblings and one of the sibling's three children crashed into another vehicle on Kathleen Road.

At around 7:46 p.m., officers responded to the 900 block of Kathleen Road for a two-vehicle crash. Police arrived to the scene to find a 2015 red Cadillac SUV carrying had collided with a 2016 black Dodge Challenger. 

The SUV had been carrying five occupants, later identified as a brother and sister and three children of the sister's, and the Dodge Challenger had been carrying a 20-year-old man, according to police. The brother, who had been driving the SUV, and the three children were ejected from the car.

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Police said the right front passenger in the SUV, identified as the sister, was declared dead at the scene. The remaining occupants of the Cadillac were taken to Lakeland Regional Health where, despite the best efforts of the staff, two of the children were declared dead.

The driver of the Cadillac and the third passenger in the car sustained critical injuries. The driver of the Dodge Challenger was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where police said he is in stable condition.

Based on information gathered in the investigation thus far, the Cadillac was turning left onto Quincy Street from Kathleen Road when the Dodge Challenger, who had been driving on Kathleen Road from the opposite direction, collided with it. 

The Cadillac then rotated into a utility pole. Police added that it appeared that the driver and juvenile passengers in the Cadillac, as well as the driver of the Challenger, were unrestrained at the time of the crash. 

The crash remains an open investigation, and police are asking anyone with information regarding the incident to contact Traffic Crash Investigator Officer Camillo Almeida at Camillo.almeida@lakelandgov.net.