A woman is dead and a 4  year-old girl in critical condition after a Tampa car accident.

According to officials with the Florida Highway Patrol, 52 year-old Tonya Brown in a 1995 Toyota traveling east through Ruskin Friday afternoon when the accident occurred. Police say Brown's vehicle  left the roadway and entered the grass shoulder. The car struck a ditch, continued forward, and then struck a billboard trailer.

Brown was killed and pronounced dead at the scene. A 4 year-old passenger in the car, Deasia Brown, was critically injured in the accident. She was transported to a nearby hospital following the crash.

The relationship between Tonya Brown and Deasia Brown is not known.

A lawsuit is being filed over the 2008 wrongful death of a 14 year-old boy.

The boy died after crashing a water scooter into a dock May 24, 2008 on Egypt Lake. The boy's younger brother was also riding on the scooter, and suffered injuries in the crash.

The parents are suing the owner of the water scooter, claiming that he was negligent. They believe that his lack of supervision and consent to allow the boys to ride the scooter despite a lack of training led to the crash and both the death and injuries suffered. The family filed the suit in the Hillsborough County Circuit Court.

The suit is seeking payment for damages exceeding $15,000.

An 18-year-old Tampa Bay Rays prospect was involved in a fatal car accident on Friday, when the car he was driving struck a minivan in San Diego.

According to reports, Andrew Bellatti was driving with his 16-year-old girlfriend near his old high school in San Diego.  The pitching prospect was speeding, traveling approximately 80 miles per hour, when he crossed a double-yellow line and into oncoming traffic.  He hit a minivan, killing the 50-year-old driver and injuring his girlfriend and a 17-year-old who was a passenger in the minivan.

If you or someone you love has been injured or worse in an automobile accident, contact the Tampa car accident attorneys of Beltz & Ruth today by calling 800-235-8978.

A Hillsborough County jury convicted a man from Tampa of first-degree murder and a number of other charges Tuesday. Derrick McNeal was guilty of murdering a 2-year-old boy in 2005.

Prosecutors argues that McNeal killed the child while trying to run over his girlfriend, while McNeal claimed that he was trying to flee after he had heard gunshots, according to trial testimony. 

If you have lost a loved one in a violent murder, contact the Tampa wrongful death lawyers of Beltz & Ruth, P.A., at 800-235-8978.

A jailed man was charged for a 2000 strangling Wednesday. Carl Chavers apparently lived three houses down from a Laquetta White, who was raped and killed nine years ago.

Until recently, police were unable to match any evidence from the crime scene to a possible suspect. However, when DNA evidence from the scene was matched with Chavers's DNA from a 2008 sexual battery case, police were convinced that Chavers was the guilty party.

If you have lost a loved one in a strangling death, contact the Tampa wrongful death lawyers of Beltz & Ruth 800-235-8978.