A 14-year-old allegedly stole their family car and later crashed it into traffic pole, where it burst into flames and killed a teenage passenger.
According to KTLA, police officers noticed the Toyota driving without headlights shortly after midnight Tuesday morning. They made verbal contact with the driver, but instead of stopping, they took off at a high rate of speed.
The officers did not pursue, and the vehicle slammed into the pole at Ventura Boulevard and Balboa Avenue.
Officers pulled two teenage girls from the vehicle, which was fully engulfed in flames as they used a baton to break the car’s windows and a fire extinguisher to try to douse the flames.
The driver of the vehicle, an unlicensed 14-year-old, and an 18-year-old girl who was a passenger in the front seat, were hospitalized in stable condition, Los Angeles Police Captain Jeff Hollis said.
“There are some families that are going to be suffering as a result of this. It’s absolutely terrible,” he said.
The third teen had been a back seat passenger and was pronounced dead on the scene, Hollis said. The family reported the car stolen Monday night.
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[Featured image: KTLA screenshot]
