[05-09-25] Driver Arrested After Mother and Daughter Injured in Hit-And-Run Outside Largo Walmart

LARGO – A woman has been arrested following a hit-and-run crash that injured an adult female and her 6-year-old daughter outside a Walmart in Largo.

According to the Largo Police Department, the incident occurred at approximately 8:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, 2025, in the parking lot of the Walmart located at 2677 Roosevelt Boulevard. Investigators say 32-year-old Lauren Howells was operating a Jaguar sedan recklessly through the lot, striking multiple vehicles as well as a mother and her 6-year-old daughter.

The child was transported to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital with very critical injuries. The woman was taken to Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital in St. Petersburg with significant but non-life-threatening injuries.

Howells fled the scene in the vehicle, which was later found parked at the Clearwater Inn at 2960 Gulf to Bay Boulevard.

Through the investigation, it was learned that Howells left the Days Inn on Gulf to Bay Blvd before the incident and returned shortly after the incident with damage consistent with the crash. It was determined that Howells left the Days Inn in a second vehicle prior to Clearwater Police arriving.

While continuing to search for the suspect and the second vehicle, Largo Police learned the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office stopped a separate vehicle that was also registered to Howells for a traffic stop. Largo Police worked with Pinellas County Deputies to locate Howells and she was taken into custody at The Murphy Hotel located at 4900 34th Street.

During the interview, Howells admitted to driving the vehicle, hitting something, and leaving the scene.

Howells is charged with leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, two counts of leaving the scene of a crash with injuries, and reckless driving with serious bodily injury.

As of this morning, the two victims remain in the hospital.

The Largo Police Department thanked the Clearwater Police Department and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance and support throughout this investigation.

The arrest information shows Howells as a Clearwater transient with no listed home address.

Howells was arrested in 2023 for multiple drug charges, which included possession of crack cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia along with Klonopin. Other charges, in 2023, included grand theft, petit theft, and attaching a license plate not assigned to the vehicle.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Source : IONTB