THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608230119
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 57 lines
A 15-year-old girl, leaving a church service with a friend's baby in her arms, was killed late Wednesday night after a pickup slammed into her and kept going.
Family members said LaToya Nicole Mason was clutching 10-month-old Jasmine Warren when she was struck. LaToya died less than an hour later at a hospital, and Jasmine suffered minor injuries.
LaToya was leaving the Tabernacle Church of God in Christ with the baby at 11:43 p.m. As she crossed the heavily traveled 3000 block of Tidewater Drive, a 1995 Ford pickup hit her, but the driver did not stop, police said.
LaToya was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where she died at 12:23 a.m.
Jasmine, of the 1300 block of Godfrey Ave., was taken to Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, where she was treated for minor injuries and released.
LaToya's mother, Charlotte Mason, spoke softly of her death on Thursday morning.
She was consoled by family members and friends on her front porch in the 400 block of W. 26th St.
``He killed my daughter,'' she said of the truck driver. Police identified the driver as Thomas D. Price of the 1300 block of W. Ocean View Ave.
About 20 minutes after LaToya was struck, the Ford truck was spotted near the intersection of 12th View St. and W. Ocean View Avenue, and Price was arrested.
He was charged with involuntary manslaughter and two counts of felony hit and run.
Police said neither alcohol nor speeding were involved. He is scheduled to appear in General District Court this morning.
Mason said she was asleep when LaToya's godmother rushed to her house with the news.
When Mason arrived at the site of the accident, rescuers were trying to save LaToya, she said.
``The ambulance was at the church,'' she said. ``They were working on her.''
LaToya, who has eight brothers and sisters, was getting ready to start the eighth grade at Blair Middle School and played on the school's basketball team.
She also was dedicated to her church - attending three times a week - and liked to travel. A trip to King's Dominion in Doswell was planned for the weekend.
It was no surprise, Mason said, that LaToya was carrying Jasmine.
``She's always holding that little girl,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
LaToya Nicole Mason was struck in the 3000 block of Tidewater Drive
by a pickup. The driver was arrested.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITY JUVENILE TEENAGER
HIT AND RUN by CNB