15-year-old in stolen SUV sped through red light before deadly crash, Florida cops say
A 15-year-old driving a stolen Hyundai SUV sped through a red light before a crash that killed the 23-year-old driver of another vehicle, according to Florida police.
The 15-year-old was driving a Hyundai Santa Fe southbound on a road approaching an expressway in Orlando early in the morning on April 23, according to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol. The Hyundai was carrying five teenage passengers in addition to the driver.
As the vehicle approached an intersection, a second SUV, a Toyota 4Runner, was coming off an exit ramp and making a left turn to continue northbound onto the road, the report says.
The driver of the Hyundai Santa Fe sped through the intersection and ran a red light, striking the Toyota 4Runner on the driver’s side, according to the report.
The impact caused the Toyota 4Runner to hit the curb of the center median and flip onto its right side, Florida Highway Patrol said.
Troopers responded to the crash just after 4:30 a.m. The 23-year-old driver of the Toyota 4Runner was pronounced dead at the scene, the report says.
The driver of the Santa Fe and all five passengers were taken to a hospital, according to the report.
A 13-year-old passenger, a 15-year-old passenger, a 16-year-old passenger and the 15-year-old driver all suffered serious injuries, the report says. A 13-year-old and a 14-year-old passenger had minor injuries.
The Hyundai Santa Fe was reported stolen at around 8:30 a.m. on April 23 from an area of Orlando about 5 miles from the crash, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office did not release further information about the stolen vehicle.
Florida Highway Patrol did not release the identities of anyone involved in the crash.
Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tara Crescenzi told McClatchy News that charges are possible when the crash investigation is completed.
Police across the country reported a spike in thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles last year and blamed a TikTok trend that instructed users how to break into the cars and start them without keys. A class action lawsuit filed in Iowa claims the cars have a defect that makes them “easy to steal.”
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