APOPKA, Fla. — Apopka police say the man allegedly behind the wheel during a high-speed crash that killed a 7-year-old is now facing a murder charge.

What You Need To Know

  • Apopka Police said officers were responding to a call about a vehicle burglary Thursday morning when they started getting calls about a deadly crash along Summit Street

  • Investigators say one of the drivers was allegedly fleeing the scene of the burglary when they hit another vehicle, killing a 7-year-old passenger

  • Apopka police said that speed was a factor in the crash

Investigators said a resident reported that they caught Marcus Antone Williams breaking into their vehicle at about 8:09 a.m.

"When confronted by the vehicle owner, Williams fled the scene at a high rate of speed," the Apopka Police Department said in a statement. 

Officers say Williams was allegedly seen driving recklessly, going 80 mph in a 30 mph residential area, before he got into a wreck at the intersection of North Maine Avenue and Summit Street.

He is accused of hitting a vehicle there occupied by a woman and two children — one of which, a 7-year-old, died in the crash.

While the crash happened just after 8 a.m., remnants of the accident were still visible on the road by the afternoon, along with tire marks that extended about 40 feet to a home.

Rosanelly Ponce said she watched the aftermath of the accident.

“There was a car that was speeding and it hit the car with the woman that was taking the kids to school," said Ponce, who lives in the neighborhood. "And it happened, the child lost his life."

She said she heard the impact of the crash, which resulted in the 7-year-old's death.

“It looks like they wanted to resuscitate him,” Ponce said, adding that the child's tragic death should have never taken place.

“Now look, there’s a death that shouldn’t have happened, a child that woke up happy to go to school, and now look what happened now,” she said.

Officials said the woman who was driving the children was still being treated at the hospital, but the other child involved was released from care earlier in the day.

According to the Apopka Police Department, Williams was undergoing surgery Thursday evening for injuries he received during the crash. A warrant has been issued for his arrest on charges of felony murder, vehicular homicide, causing death while driving with a suspended license and burglary of an unoccupied conveyance.