Woman, 18, arrested in St. Pete crash that killed two teens

ST. PETERSBURG — An 18-year-old woman was arrested on two counts of vehicular homicide in the Feb. 8 crash on Interstate 275 that killed two teen girls.

Erinasha Jania Porshay Jones was booked into the Pinellas County jail on Thursday. She was being held Friday in lieu of $200,000 bail.

The crash occurred at about 6:20 a.m. on the morning of Feb. 8, a Saturday. Jones was driving a 2003 Toyota Camry north on I-275 and she had Keeoshia Edwards, 17, and Jiana Minaya, 16, in the car with her, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Meanwhile, a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado with 38-year-old Ernesto Leon behind the wheel and Juan Alvarez, 33, as a passenger also was heading north.

As the Camry approached the 22nd Avenue N exit, Jones tried to move from the inside lane to the exit ramp — crossing three lanes in doing so — and entered the Silverado’s path, troopers said. The car’s passenger side hit the pickup’s driver side, according to an arrest warrant.

The car carrying the three teens spun out and went off the shoulder of the exit ramp, crashing into two pine trees, according to the warrant.

Responders took the three teens from the Camry to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg. The men in the pickup, who are from Manatee County, were not taken to the hospital.

Edwards, who was from St. Petersburg, and Minaya, from Clearwater, died at the hospital, according to the report. Jones was seriously injured but was able to speak with troopers.

Jones told troopers that neither of her passengers had been wearing seatbelts, though she had.

Tests showed her blood alcohol content level was 0.066. Florida law presumes impairment at 0.08.

Troopers also noted that her clothes smelled of marijuana, reports state.

The Highway Patrol presented its evidence to a Pinellas-Pasco Circuit judge, who on Monday signed a warrant for her arrest.

Arrest reports say Jones is of St. Petersburg but list her address as transient.