“She was everything, everything to us,” said Breonna Britten, fighting back tears.
She is the oldest of seven brothers and sisters, siblings she's now responsible for consoling.
Her mother, April Morrow, 40, was killed Tuesday morning in a hit-and-run crash. St. Pete police say the crime began with a brawl outside a St. Pete convenience store.
“My mother was innocent, ready to get home to her babies,” said Britten, surrounded by family.
Investigators say around three in the morning, a brawl broke out outside the Obama Express Food Market. Trapped in the middle were two sisters, April and Tina Morrow.
“When our officers arrived, a lot of people got in their cars and they left,” said Yolanda Fernandez, St, Petersburg police spokeswoman.
April and Tina took off as well. Unfortunately, it would take a deadly turn just minutes later.
“Another vehicle followed them, struck them, forcing them off the road and they hit a utility pole,” Fernandez said. "We believe a person in each of the cars was involved in the brawl in some way."
However the exact reasons behind the deadly maneuver that sent Morrow's car off the road remain unclear.
“You could actually hear the one person hollering for help,” Maurice Haynes said. “I mean the front end of the car was totally demolished.”
Haynes lives across the street from where the women’s car came to rest at 16th Avenue South and MLK. He says he watched as rescue workers cut one of the women free from the mangled wreckage. As for the car that caused the crash, Haynes says it was already gone. Investigators say they have since tracked the car they believe was involved but are not identifying any suspects and have not made any arrests.
Both women were taken to the Bayfront Medical Center, only Tina would survive. While police piece together the moments before and after the crash, April’s daughter can only hope for swift justice.
"The people who did it, I don't think they care, honestly, I don't think they care,” said Britten.
