A 6-year-old Tampa girl died after the SUV she was riding in was struck by a Temple Terrace police cruiser on East Fowler Avenue, authorities said.
The crash happened at 3:43 p.m. April 15 at the intersection of East Fowler Avenue and North Drive, according to the Temple Terrace police department.
A Nissan Pathfinder driven by a 36-year-old Tampa woman was in the eastbound turn lane when she made a U-turn into the path of a westbound Ford Explorer driven by a 25-year-old Temple Terrace officer, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Both vehicles came to rest in a ditch on the north side of the road.
The driver, two other passengers and the officer were taken to area hospitals with injuries that were not life-threatening, troopers said. The 6-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The other passengers in the Pathfinder were a 1-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl, both from Tampa, according to the Highway Patrol.
The officer is in stable condition, police said.
The Florida Highway Patrol is leading the investigation. A Temple Terrace city official said in a statement that turning the case over to an outside agency is “consistent with our commitment to transparency and ensures an independent review of the incident.”
No charges have been announced. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.