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Pregnant Woman Riding In Stolen Car Dies In Crash

October 26, 2005

A group of teenagers and a pregnant woman on a joy ride in a stolen vehicle caused a fatal accident that killed the woman and her unborn child.

As the Cadillac and the pickup collided, Willie Mathis grabbed for his girlfriend and watched her bulging body heave from the blow. The stolen pickup had barreled through a red light at 45th Street and Corporate Way, slamming into the Cadillac's driver's side. In an instant it was over, and he reached for her again. When Mathis shook her and asked if she was fine, she looked at his face and told him he was bleeding. Then, with her eyes still open, Nakea Black slumped her head and said no more.

The three teens in the truck got out and ran as the pregnant 22-year-old mother and her unborn son died behind the steering wheel. The teens were arrested soon after, and later that they were hanging their heads in a juvenile courtroom.

At least two of the three suspects have been arrested before on auto theft charges. In a city that records more than 1,000 auto thefts a year, police say a huge portion are committed by adolescents and pre-adolescents, some as young as 8 or 9 years old. Many teens who steal cars do so over and over again, racking up charges with few penalties in a criminal justice system that generally goes easier on youths than adults when nonviolent crimes are concerned.

'It's just an easy opportunity and a way to start the decline in their lives,' said West Palm Beach police Capt. Laurie Van Deusen, chairwoman of the Palm Beach County Multi-Agency Auto Theft Task Force. 'It's so easy to steal some of these cars. Some of them will boast about how quickly they can get into a car.'

The Dodge Ram pickup had been stolen earlier in the day from The Gardens mall in Palm Beach Gardens, police said. The alleged driver, Ranard Gilbert, 16, of Riviera Beach, was arrested on two counts of vehicular manslaughter as well as on charges of grand theft auto involving a death, leaving the scene of an accident involving a death, carrying a concealed firearm and driving without a license causing a death. One of the alleged passengers, Cassius Worthy, 17, of Riviera Beach, was arrested on a charge of grand theft auto over $20,000. Another 14-year-old passenger was arrested on the same charge.

Both Gilbert and Worthy have been arrested on auto theft charges before, state records show. Gilbert was charged once last year with stealing an automobile in Palm Beach Gardens. Worthy has been arrested on auto theft charges three times, in Coconut Creek, Lantana and unincorporated Palm Beach County.