26yearold mother of four dies following multivehicle crash near Busch Gardens
Jan 06, 2025
A mother of four died on Friday morning after a multi-vehicle crash near Busch Gardens. Jessica Wiggins said her daughter, 26-year-old Paige Howard, dropped two of her children off at daycare.She was driving on E. Bougainvillea Avenue and making a left-hand turn. Police said a driver in a Dodge Ram was traveling southbound on McKinley Drive and hit Howard, who was driving a Kia Sorento. The driver and passenger in the Dodge Ram were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Wiggins said she got a knock at the door from a police detective. "They asked me to come out and have a seat, and they told me there was a fatal car accident, and my daughter was killed," she said. "I was in shock. I didn't believe it was my daughter."Wiggins said her daughter leaves behind four children. Her youngest child is three years old. "My seven-year-old granddaughter, when I had to break the news to her, she just hugged me and kept crying. I can't live without my mom," said Wiggins."My youngest grandchild, the 3-year-old, keeps going over to her picture and saying mommy, mommy and looking and running to the front door, waiting for her to come home." The family started a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses and her four children."We're still in a lot of shock. Still haven't slept in days. I'll fall asleep for about an hour or so and just wake up crying in my sleep. I just don't believe she's gone," said Wiggins. Tampa Police said a third vehicle traveling southbound on McKinley Dr. attempted to avoid the crash and subsequently crashed into a wooded area. The driver and sole occupant, an adult male, was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.A fourth vehicle was hit by debris from the initial crash. The driver and sole occupant, an adult female, was not injured.Police have not released details about the circumstances leading up to the crash. For more information on the GoFundMe page, click here.