Two teen sisters killed after car crashes into North Port retention pond
NORTH PORT, Fla. - A North Port family's two teenaged daughters were killed Wednesday evening after their car crashed into a retention pond.
Nearby neighbors ran to help the two teens, Sophia and Nicole, but there was nothing that could be done.
Two teenaged sisters, Sophia and Nicole, were killed after their car crashed into a retention pond in North Port.
"I was lying in bed. I heard someone hit their breaks. I heard tires screeching, and I heard them hit something about 3 times and I jumped up and ran out," said Laureen Wilson, who lives nearby.
READ: Gabby Petito's family awarded $3 million in lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents, estate
Wilson said she ran across North Sumter Boulevard just after 10 p.m. and found two tires sticking out of a nearby retention pond. When she walked up to the scene, she said the car was flipped upside down in the canal.
Wilson's neighbor, an off-duty North Port police officer, ran to help, but the car was too submerged. The two sisters, 17-year-old Sophia and 16-year-old Nicole, both died in the crash.
The North Port Police Department said their Honda Accord traveled off the road, hitting a bridge rail and launching it into the nearby pond. They believe the driver, whose family said was 17-year-old Sophia, was speeding.
"Life is precious, and anything can happen at anytime," Josh Taylor with NPPD said. "We talk about speed, we talk about buckling up, we talk about all these things, and it’s not just because we think it’s fun. It’s because it’s important. This is unfortunately a reminder of how fragile life is."
MORE: Bodycam video shows moments leading up to armed robbery suspect being shot by Sarasota officer
Wilson said since living in the area, she's seen about a dozen crashes.
"I think maybe putting up a flashing light and a sign that says slow down, curve. Something. Something has to be done for that curve," she said.
Sophia and Nicole both attended North Port High School, and Sophia was going to graduate in the Spring. Their parents want the community to know their children were loved, and they will be forever missed, but not forgotten.