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Griggs and the 17-year-old driver were taken into custody and are each facing two charges of vehicular homicide. The 17-year-old has also been charged with driving without a valid driver’s license during which there was a death.

“Our condolences go out to the families of the victims,” said Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw. “It’s unfortunate that two young lives were lost so tragically. Street racing is not victimless, and it has serious consequences. There is no amount of street credibility that is worth putting your life or the lives of others at risk.”

Roches’ father, retired Army Sgt. Edmund Roches of Chicago, Illinois, described his son as a young man with a contagious smile and a big heart who would do anything to help his friends and family.

Kenyon Roches attended Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School before transferring to Lennard High.

Roches said Kenyon, his oldest son, was bright and destined to do great things in life. Now he’ll never have that chance, the father said.

He has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for his son’s funeral. As of Saturday, $10,797 has been raised.

Street, or drag, racing has become a regular weekend happening with races posted on social media sites with the locations and times to attract racers and crowds. The frequency of the races have prompted the Tampa police and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to scour social media sites for information on upcoming races and then arrest the participants.

More than a dozen people were arrested by the Tampa Police Department between Friday, Jan. 27, and Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, as part of an operation to shut down a street-racing event planned for Gasparilla Fest weekend.

Officers became aware of the event after members of the community saw it circulating on social media and contacted police. The event, dubbed the “Tampa vs. Everybody Takeover,” was scheduled to take place over one of the busiest weekends of the year on Tampa roads.

Street racers were arrested at multiple locations throughout Tampa, Hillsborough County and surrounding areas of Tampa Bay.

It was a repeat performance on May 14 when the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Tampa Police Department, conducted an eight-hour operation called “Operation Flex,” focusing on street-racing crimes. Law enforcement made 110 traffic stops, issued 52 warnings and made eight arrests.

“Tampa Bay law enforcement is sending a loud and resounding message: we are not going to tolerate this type of reckless behavior in our community,” said Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister. “Operations like these are essential to the safety and well-being of our community, which is always our top priority.”

It’s a crime that has resulted in at least five deaths in Hillsborough County in the past year.

Two teenagers were arrested July 24 after participating in an illegal street race that killed a 16-year-old teen on Adamo Drive near 50th Street. Witnesses said the teens were driving at speeds approaching 120 mph when the two cars collided.

And it isn’t only teens involved in the racing. The Florida Highway Patrol said a 40-year-old Ruskin man died in a street race May 23 on Interstate 75 near the Big Bend Road exit in south Hillsborough County. The victim was a passenger in a 2010 Infiniti G37 that was racing a 2014 Chevy Volt. The drivers arrested were age 45 and 34.

The same day, two cars racing on U.S. 41, north of South 16 Street, struck a pickup truck. The cars were going so fast that the car that hit the pickup truck split it in half, instantly killing the 26-year-old Tampa man who was driving it.

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