Teen dies, two others injured after crashing stolen Maserati in Florida

A 15-year-old Florida boy died on Sunday after he stole a Maserati with two friends and crashed it into a business, authorities reported. 

The three friends found an unlocked 2016 silver Maserati, with the keys in the ignition, at around 3:30 a.m. in St. Petersburg, Florida, according to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. 

The teenagers stole the car and took it for a high-speed joy ride. The car was going at high speeds without its headlights on when the driver lost control, crashed into the side of a business building, and flipped over. The car was a total loss.

The 15-year-old boy, identified as Mario Bonilla, died at the scene. Malachi Daniels, 16, was hospitalized in critical condition and is not expected to recover. The driver, Keondrick Lang, 15, was in the hospital in critical condition. He is expected to recover. 

“This is what happens when you’re an inexperienced driver at 3:30 in the morning driving 80 miles an hour and you lose it,” Gualtieri said. “And unfortunately one has lost his life, the other one looks like is going to lose his life, and the other has some pretty serious injuries.”

Gualtieri added that none of the teenagers had a driver's license. 

The car was spotted by police patrolling in a helicopter while they were responding to another incident. After alerting authorities on the ground, police officers tried to stop them but when the Maserati fled away the deputies did not chase after them, per department policy. 

“Once the deputies disengaged they didn’t slow down,” said Gualtieri. “They just kept going at a high rate of speed.”