AUBURNDALE, Fla. (WFLA) — Jalina “Lina” Anglin spent Thanksgiving and the two days that followed with her father, her siblings and her father’s partner Cheyenne Larkin.
On Saturday, Larkin said Lina, 5, was a ball of energy playing with her siblings.
“I gave her her last bath. I got her dressed. She came in there and she said bye to me and that she loved me,” said Larkin.
By Saturday night, Lina’s mother was eager to reunite and picked up her 5-year old daughter in Winter Haven.
“She said bye to everybody and she left, and then like 10 minutes later her mom called me screaming,” said Daniel Harrell, Lina’s father.
At the intersection of U.S. Highway 92 and Havendale Boulevard in Auburndale, Lina and her mother were stopped at a red light. After it turned green, authorities said, Lina’s mother said she heard sirens but moved forward when another car moved.
In the intersection, their car was struck by an Auburndale police truck that was in emergency mode, responding to an incident.
Sgt. Danny Swan, who was driving the police truck, was not injured.
Lina’s mother suffered a broken wrist. Lina, who was in the back seat, died at a hospital.
Her family is sure she was wearing a seat belt, although the sheriff’s office said that was still under investigation. Her father, Daniel Harrell, said he saw her body and it had burn marks from the straps.
“Her mom is not that irresponsible. She’s a perfect mom. She took the best care of Lina that she could,” he said.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the crash.
“Sergeant Swan is devastated. Even though he was perfectly in his right to run emergencies through the light, it still doesn’t make it any better for him or for the family of this child that is deceased,” said Sheriff Grady Judd in an interview with WESH.
“Her birthday’s coming up in January. She was supposed to be turning 6. Christmas is around the corner. I still got gifts under the tree with her name on them,” said Larkin.
Larkin said the family will not be the same without their princess-loving, bright, playful little girl.
“This is just terrible. It’s tragic and it should have never happened,” said Larkin.