IMMOKALEE, Fla. (AP/WSVN) — Authorities are investigating the deaths of a Florida woman and her two children after their minivan became submerged in a pond.
In a Naples Daily News report, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Greg Bueno said 27-year-old Shatoria Michelle Brown of Immokalee was driving the children late Saturday when their vehicle went over the shoulder of the roadway and into the pond.
A highway patrol report said Brown’s body was found in the water outside the submerged minivan. Bueno said her two children, 3-year-old Ra’Layah Johnson and 5-year-old Ra’Majesty Johnson, were found inside the vehicle.
The highway patrol report said the 3-year-old girl was pronounced dead at a hospital, and her brother was pronounced dead at the scene.
Friends and family told Fox 4 that Brown ran through the neighborhood screaming for help after the crash, but was unable to find anyone. Her best friend Michelle said she believes Brown then jumped back into the water in an attempt to rescue her children.
“She didn’t know how to swim, but I know she fought to save her kids,” Michelle said.
Bueno said the deaths were under investigation.
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