13-year-old driver kills woman, injures 9 people in California car crash
A 13-year-old boy out for a joyride in the family car killed a woman and injured nine more people in a three-car crash in Northern California, police said.
The teen was also injured in the crash Saturday in Woodland, about 15 miles west of Sacramento. He has not been publicly identified.
“Unfortunately kids are young and they do not see their actions have consequences,” Woodland police officer Victoria Danzl told local CBS affiliate KOVR. “Today this was pretty significant.”
A cop spotted the teenager driving erratically around 4:25 p.m. near Main St. in Woodland, a city of 60,000 people. The teen was the only person in the car, police said.
The officer tried to pull the boy over, but the teen sped off instead, initiating a brief chase.
“It was a very short pursuit, so the hope is that their lights and siren are going to end the behavior,” Danzl told KOVR.
That did not happen. Instead, the 13-year-old sped into the intersection of College St. and Court St. and struck two other cars at high speed, police said. Two of the three vehicles involved caught fire.
One woman died in the collision. Ten more people were transported to a nearby hospital, including the teenage suspect. Two other minors were also injured in the crash, according to KOVR. None of the victims have been publicly identified.
“I am totally in shock, nothing has ever happened here in Woodland like this,” resident Judy Fann told the station.
The hospitalized suspect was detained by police and could be charged with vehicular manslaughter, cops said.
