As the Chevy Malibu sank and water poured in, Richard Whitaker and Sarah Tandy reached for their girls in desperation. But the water rose too fast.

They were swallowing black canal water, and their consciousness began to waver.

Next thing the couple knew, they were on the canal bank, pulled out by troopers and passing motorists. Barely conscious, Tandy lay alongside one of the motionless toddlers, reaching for her hand, begging her to stay alive.

But the two girls - Lexie Miller, 4, and Layla Ann Whitaker, 14 months - died in the Sunday afternoon crash on Florida's Turnpike while their father and Layla's mother sustained serious injuries.

The couple's last frantic attempt to save the girls, recounted by Whitaker's former girlfriend after speaking with him and Tandy in the hospital, was a heartbreaking end to a crash that took two lives and left two others wracked with guilt.

Whitaker and Sarah Tandy reached for the girls in desperation. But the water rose too fast.

They were swallowing black canal water and swallowing more, and their consciousness began to waver.

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Next thing they knew they were on the canal bank, pulled out by troopers and passing motorists. Barely conscious, Tandy lay alongside one of the motionless girls, reaching for her hand, begging her to stay.

But Richard’s two daughters - Lexie Miller, 4, and Layla Ann Whitaker, 1 - died in the Sunday crash on Florida’s Turnpike while he and Tandy lived.

The couple’s last frantic attempt to save the girls, recounted by Richard’s ex-wife after speaking with him and Tandy in the hospital, was a heartbreaking tale on a crash that took two lives and left two others wracked with guilt.

Lexie Miller, 4, and Layla Ann Whitaker, 1, died in Sunday's crash on Florida’s Turnpike.

"They are just both so guilt-stricken right now," said Shannon Miller, Lexie's mother. "They both feel like it's their fault. Richie doesn't feel like he deserves to be here. He thinks it should be him that's dead."

Whitaker, 28, and Tandy, 20, a couple for about two years, were on their way from their home in Port St. Lucie to Snappers Seafood and Wine Bar west of Boynton Beach, where Whitaker is a chef and Tandy is a hostess, relatives said.

But first they had to drop off the girls - Lexie at the home of her mother, Miller, and Layla at Tandy's mother's house.

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As Whitaker drove south on the turnpike through southern Martin County, the car drifted toward the median and spun out of control after he overcorrected, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The Malibu struck a concrete median wall, spun across lanes of traffic and careened into a canal at about 1:30 p.m., the FHP said.

A witness told FHP investigators that Whitaker appeared to be speeding, and they are checking whether that was a factor in the crash. Since 2004, Whitaker has been found guilty of speeding seven times and of failure to yield right of way once, according to state records.

Miller said she began to worry Sunday afternoon when Whitaker didn't show up to drop off their daughter at her home in Greenacres. She frantically called family members and eventually learned of the crash.

She rushed to a Jupiter hospital where Layla had been taken, only to learn that her own daughter, Lexie, had died at the scene.

She called Lexie an angel, one who loved to sing and dance and play dress-up. Because Whitaker had custody of her for the weekend, Miller hadn't seen her daughter since Friday and lamented that she never got to say goodbye. "I didn't get that last chance to hug her and kiss her and do her hair," she said.

Miller said the family is making plans for their funerals. Before the service, if she can stand it, she plans to dress her daughter one last time.

Staff researcher Niels Heimeriks contributed to this story.

Share condolences: Lexie Miller, Layla Ann Whitaker

A Juno Beach police officer was one of two young women killed early Sunday when the car they were riding in careened off the road in Palm City.

Officer Tiffany Renee Russell of Juno Beach and Lynda Kathryn Kruse of Stuart were ejected from the Mini Cooper when Kruse failed to negotiate a curve near the corner of Southwest Citrus Boulevard and Southwest Martin Highway at about 2:45 a.m. and the car went off the road and began rolling, according to a Florida Highway Patrol release. The stretch of Citrus Boulevard had just recently opened, Lt. Tim Frith said.

Neither woman was wearing a seat belt and both died at the scene, he said. It was not known whether alcohol was a factor.

Russell’s boyfriend, who is also in law enforcement, found the overturned vehicle with Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Juno Beach Police Chief Dennis Weiner said in a release Sunday that Russell had been with the department for only a year and a half but “had become a valued part of our community, a dedicated officer and great friend to all of us here.”

Funeral services were pending, the statement said.

“She was extremely well-liked in this small community and will be dearly missed,” Weiner said.

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Lynda Kathryn Kruse
Tiffany Renee Russell

- DON JORDAN