right now on news channel 8 at 11. >> breaking news. a killer put to death. justice for the victims of oscar ray bolen. >> a toddler spotted driving on a busy highway. how good samaritans prevented pozzable disaster. >> we have fan reaction as lovey smith gets fired as the buccs head coach. thank you for joining us tonight. we have breaking news we want to begin with. we have just learned the state of florida has executed serial killer oscar ray bolen. we are outside the prison in stark, and we are joined live with the very latest. mark? >> reporter: jen, oscar ray bolen died at 10:16 after lethal injection. the family has walked up to the podium to speak. let me put the microphone up so you can hear.

[ no audio ] [ no audio ] >> today i have witnessed an event i never want to repeat. it was not a celebratory event, yet i do feel relieved that it has finally occurred. at this time i wish to thank all the people within law enforcement, even those who have retired, and those in the media whether local, state, or national in any branch of government that participated in any way in bringing justice and closure to our families.

longer having to worry or wonder if or when we would have to endure another trial, another appeal, or after 29 plus years we could expect any justice at all. unlike natalie holly who passed away, i will go to my grave knowing i experienced closure in my daughter's murder. i'd like to thank the witnesses who testified on our behalf, some who did so in fear for their life. i specially wish to thank phillip bolen who experienced the wrath and alienation by his own family by testifying against his half-brother. god bless you, phillip, for your colonel in doing the right thing. our family and terry's friends are forever grateful.

been able to find peace and build a decent and happy life for yourself. last but by no means least, i wish to thank those who have shown their support to our family over these many years, including those attending today's event beside me. as to my possibly forgiving oscar bolen for the deliberate and cruel murder of my daughter, it will never happen. he never accepted responsibility for his heinous acts. as for rosalee bolen, i feel much sympathy for her parents and the martinez family for the years of unimaginable pain and embarrassment she must have caused them. and perhaps now, too, terry will have her peace.

you were the sunshine in our lives and many of your friends, some of who regularly still visit your grave and leave signs of remembrance. rest in peace, my darling daughter. thank you all. [ no audio ] >> reporter: that was kathleen reeves, the mother of terry lynn matthews expressing her sentiment saying she could never forgive oscar ray bolen for what he did, also expressing sympathy for the family of oscar ray bolen's

him. let me go back to you, and we'll pick this up later. >> mark douglas live outside the state prison in stark. thank you, mark. in other news, a wild ride for a toddler. he takes to the highway in a motorized vehicle, then the ride ends in the median of a busy highway. had it not been for good samaritans, who knows who could have happened next. we are joined live along u.s. 19. what a frightening few minutes here, paul. >> reporter: you have that right, keith. imagine the drivers who actually see this driver in the road. it's not just any road. this is u.s. 19 right here, one of our busiest highways. it is a tragedy waiting to happen. >> where was this? >> it was right out here. >> reporter: right out on 19, danny collins snapping these shots shocked at the little boy in a diaper in the median.

just kind of scooting along. >> reporter: the toddler in the driver's seat, hands on the wheel, engine running, ready to roll. >> i was shocked. that's why i took the pictures. >> reporter: two good samaritans believed it. they stopped and got out of their cars. >> it could have ended a lot differently. >> reporter: unlike those good samaritans, cullen says the boy wanted to keep on going. >> the boy was like get off me and wanted to keep driving along. >> reporter: how could this happen? dad showed up about 10 minutes later saying his son just slipped out of the house while he was in the bathroom. >> how is the child doing? >> it's not a good time, man. >> reporter: dad not exactly talking, but neighbors pointing out the vehicle in question hidden underneath a blanket. as for collins, he has two young kids of his own and says he is not about to pass judgment. >> all i hope is the father --

been deadly. >> it could have been very horrible. >> reporter: back live tonight along u.s. 19. so many people telling us it's hard to believe this child didn't get hit. dcf is now investigating. >> the kid is only 3 years old. how did he even get out of the house. was no one watching? >> reporter: yeah, that's the question. again, the dad was in the bathroom at the time. he told deputies that the kid actually stood up on one his chairs like this and that gave him just enough height so he could unlock the door and the dad was none the wiser. >> live along u.s. 19 tonight. also new tonight, there's a new proposed stadium deal between the rays and the city of st. petersburg. the mayor's office sent that out tonight. it requires the team to wait 6 months before announcing a possible new stadium location to give st. petersburg a chance

it would also require them to pay $24 million if they choose to leave st. petersburg after 2018. lovey smith is out as the buccaneers head coach so who is in? that's the big question tonight. after two losing seasons, the buccs fired lovey smith by telephone. >> speculation is growing about who the replacement will be. we'll begin our sports coverage tonight. >> i read a name tonight. i love this guy. howard stellenberger, we're talking early 1980s miami football. vince lombardi probably on that list tonight. that phone conversation was initiated by lovey smith himself. he told joe glazer he did not want to meet with ownership today, a meeting he knew would end with his firing. the list of potential hires

it's fairly similar to the other six nfl teams with head coach openings. as this search begins, the name at the top of the list is already in the building -- dirk cutter joined this season and not only turned around a dismal appearance from 2014 but had to do it with a rookie quarterback. he ended up being the top pick of the draft, but he's been placed on the radar of at least three other teams looking for a coach. at this afternoon's press conference, he did the best to shut down the thought the smith firing was to open the door for cutter. when i asked about a timetable, he said he wants to be thorough but quick. that tells you this is going to go fast. the buccs have never done anything hastily. we'll see.

>> he's a hot commodity. fans have been sounding off all day. in fact, that started last night just as soon as we announced it. >> many are not happy about it. they have not been. we are live outside one buck place with some reaction. >> reporter: good evening. whether you read it in the newspaper or you saw it on television or you read it on social media, the talk was all about lovey smith being fired. and fans were saying they believe smith was just about to turn things around. nearly 24 hours after the buccaneers fire lovey smith, fans are still upset. >> they improved from two wins to six wins to fire him? >> reporter: some fans feel the owners made a huge mistake. >> i think it's kind of a bummer. two years just isn't enough time with what he's got. >> reporter: fans say it's hard to build a team when you keep firing the coaches. >> you need continuity.

>> reporter: our facebook page has almost a thousand comments. bad move. mind boggling,. some of the phrases expressed by fans. bettes chimed in saying it's all business in the end. >> you say it's haywire and dysfunction. i've been on two organizations where we had in-house firings with the head coach. it affects you the whole emotion of it in the moment, but in the long run you're trying to do what's best for the organization. >> reporter: the one thing that fans cannot wait to hear is who will replace smith. many of them already throwing their names in the hat of who they'd like to see coach the buccaneers next year. >> live outside one bucc place tonight. thank you. culture clash. homeowners seeking a quiet life. >> but a popular bar district

homeowners confronting the owners over bad behaviors, they describe. it's neighbors versus night life on south howard avenue. also ahead, you can now pick up your domino's pizza

it is a south tampa hot spot known for trendy bars and restaurants. neighbors have reached a breaking point and tonight they took on the night life neighbors they have.

>> reporter: hey, keith, good everyoning to you. the two sides squared off tonight. it was night life versus neighbors, and the business owners tell me they love it. this is a live look at soho on a thursday night. it is absolutely packed. the neighbors tell us sometimes it's like a pack of wild animals were let out of the cage, and some of those moments have been caught on national television in the past. it's a story you'll see only on 8 tonight. >> hello. how are you doing today? >> hi. >> reporter: bad behavior in soho caught on camera on cops. >> if i let you go, are you going to fall down? okay. here. why don't you just stop right now. >> reporter: drunk, disorderly, and disrespectful. that's how homeowners here describe some of the partying patrons of the south howard crowd. >> it's just making sure they can increase more people and

>> the bars are not the only ones in the neighborhood. they are visitors in our community. >> reporter: they spoke up with plenty of passion thursday night face to face with the businesses they claim are bullies. >> this is a result of this city being successful. this is a place people want to come. they want to come here to live. they want to come here to eat. they want to come here to drink, and we have to find a way to make it work for everybody. that sometimes is difficult. >> reporter: one by one, homeowners shared horror stories of 3:00 a.m. noise and nudity claiming drug deals and defecation are taking place on a regular basis. >> there's a lot of distrust. we need to rebuild that trust. >> reporter: which is exactly what business owners claim they want -- peace in soho.

situation right now we're more of an entertainment district too. it's not just a neighborhood. it's people from north tampa, people from brandon, people from sarasota come up. it turns into a bit of a party now and then. >> reporter: back here live in the soho district, the managers there tell me they hire off- duty cops, they even give the managers cell phone numbers out to neighbors so they can be contacted any time, any place to take care of those issues. >> sounds like what you saw tonight was a town hall meeting. a lot of talking tonight. >> reporter: it was a lot of dialogue, and that's exactly what it was meant to be says councilman cowen. he's going to take it to the mayor to see if a solution, some sort of peace accord can be had here in south tampa.

if you are planning to take the kids to chick-fil-a, the restaurant wants to make sure visit less stressful. mom's valet is being implemented across the country. it lets the parents order at the drive through, and then they can go inside where an employee will have a table and highchairs ready and the food waiting on the table. >> domino's pizza is offering a drive-thru option. >> the first drive-thru domino's in sarasota. within 10 minutes, your pizza is ready to go at the window. there's a station where children can watch the pizza being made. sky cast weather calls for

maybe still a lingering shower. maybe still a lingering shower. generally pushing off to the east, 76 degrees, still a warm high. we had 72 for a high today. 76 degrees the next couple of days, friday, saturday, sunday. the drop off once again so we were cool, got warm for a couple of days. it will still be a relatively mild weekend, although just a little bit cooler at times, especially saturday night when the showers come down. back to the west, a few light showers with the yellow and red areas indicating embedded, heavier showers. they will likely weaken as they head off to the east. could get a decent downpour as they pass through. we're seeing that happen in the northern part of pinellas county. rain is certainly possible. as you can see back to the west, these showers may hold together. you may see an overnight shower. temperatures low 60s, mild.

around 2:00 a.m. and seeing showers develop now. at 7:00 a.m., a rain chance of 30%. it won't rain the whole time, but the chance is still there until this area of low pressure can be worked through the area. mostly low 60s. 61 wesley-chapel lake. 59 crystal river. big area of low pressure almost looks like a hurricane on the satellite continues to move off the east coast of florida. not a factor for us. this continues back to the west to push these showers on ahead of it. we saw this area move through texas last night and it has traveled directly to the east. there's our chance of showers especially in the overnight. that possibility for the morning commute, you could see some showers. generally this is mostly rain at this point, and of course the clouds and you saw the local radar as well.

showers could be keeps the bulk of the rain as we get into the morning how weres down to our south. back to the west, you can see that area of showers that will trickle a few light showers on to the coastal areas. this area of low pressure moving our way keeping the bulk of the rain to the south. by the afternoon, a few lingering showers but mostly south and off to our east, still some clouds, and another front coming up the road later saturday afternoon into saturday evening. the temperatures start to fall with that big blue pointy thing on the map, which is a cold front. mostly in the 60s for all of next week. 63 monday, tuesday, and then down to 66 degrees for wednesday. it's going to be a cool one. it's january. >> sure. >> you were thinking maybe it

>> december is what threw us off. >> thank you, steve. coming up next in sports, wrapping up a long day in the history of the buccs. >> we'll hear from a former player. walmart set out on a mission to find you the best oranges. to do that, we first had to find the best orange growers. we logged the miles, put in the hours, tasted a lot of fruit, and shook a lot of hands.

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could pull all of these pieces together if another team doesn't get him first. it happened over the phone wednesday night. lovey smith, after hearing from his gm jason light about buccs

>> i let him know that ownership was planning on getting together with him tomorrow or today, and i wanted to let him know i didn't think it would go in a good direction. joel called him. he said i'd like to get together with you today. lovey told him i understand what it's about. he said, let's just don't talk about that. let's get together and talk about it. lovey gracefully declined the meeting. >> and simple as that, as smith would say, he was no longer the buccs head coach. >> we made progress. we're not there yet. we're not a finished product, but we have made progress. >> reporter: smith talked about progress a number of times during our weekly monday chats. he was right about one side of the football. >> touchdown tampa bay. >> reporter: that's what makes this coaching search intriguing and potentially easy. offensive coordinator dirk

number of nfl teams with coaching vacancies. >> there's a lot of quality football coaches that are going to be available. there's been a lot of interest already just in the last few hours. dirk cutter is definitely one of those. he'll be a strong candidate. had a chance to work with him day-to-day over the last year, and i like dirk. even if cutter ends up running the show, there will be change. new assistant coaches, new players, former buccaneer who joined us for thursday's broadcast of light's press conference said players better buy in no matter who gets hired. >> when your one coach leaves, we love lovey. they're being real. when the next guy comes into the locker room, you better smile and embrace whatever he brings. it doesn't matter if you agree with it. >> some sound advice. >> yeah.

happy buccs news tonight? tony dungee finalist for the pro football hall of fame. it will be announced on the eve of the super bowl. let's get one of them in. that is fun. >> we ended on a good note. thank you for that. we'll be back with your winning lottery numbers. yeah, that's right. deal diva coming through. you see all my bogos, my weekly ad. just wait till you see my savings. and brace yourself. the digital coupons are coming next. look at her, so proud of her momma.

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that is your news for tonight. we thank you for joining us. jimmy fallon is coming your way next. >> in the meantime, have a