5-Year-Old Killed After Car Crashes With Auburndale Police Vehicle

AUBURNDALE, FL — A 5-year-old girl died on Saturday after the car she was riding in was hit by an Auburndale Police Department pickup truck that was responding to an emergency, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office said the crash happened just before 10 p.m. on U.S. 92 (Magnolia Avenue) at the intersection of Havendale Boulevard.

A sergeant with the Auburndale police was on the way to help a deputy from the sheriff's office who was involved in a physical fight with a suspect on U.S. 92 at Old Winter Haven Road. The sergeant was headed east on U.S. 92 in the marked Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.

A blue 2016 Kia sedan was stopped for a red light on northbound Havendale Boulevard. When the light changed to green, traffic heled for the approaching police vehicle with lights and sirens on.

The driver of the Kia told Polk sheriff's detectives that she heard the sirens, but began to drive into the intersection because the vehicle next to her moved forward, the sheriff's office said. The driver of the Kia crossed into the patch of the police pickup truck and the vehicles collided.

The sergeant was not injured but Police say the APD sergeant was not injured, but the driver of the Kia was taken to a local hospital where she was treated for a broken wrist. Five-year-old Jalina Anglin, who had been riding in the back seat of the Kia, was rushed to the hospital where she died from head trauma.

The driver of the Kia was treated for a broken wrist. The police sergeant was uninjured.