Girl killed in fiery crash involving 14-year-old driver in Encino
A teenage girl was killed in a violent crash involving a 14-year-old driver who was said to be trying to evade police in Encino Tuesday morning.
The crash occurred about 12:15 a.m. after officers observed a Toyota driving along Ventura Boulevard with its headlights off.
The officers made verbal contact with the driver who did not stop but instead took off at a high rate of speed, Los Angeles Police Department Captain Jeff Hollis said.
Hollis said the officers did not pursue the vehicle but it crashed into a traffic pole at Ventura Boulevard and Balboa Avenue a short time later.
Video shows the car had burst into flames and was fully engulfed as officers tried to get the victims out.
Officers used a baton and a fire extinguisher to break the car’s windows and douse the flames. Two teenage girls were pulled from the vehicle before firefighters arrived.
A third victim, also described as a teenage girl, was pronounced dead at the scene. She had been a passenger in the back seat, Hollis said.
“I see the airbags go off, I see tires popping, so my first instinct was to run back, get my fire extinguisher and try to help,” said Howard Raishbrook, a news videographer who witnessed the crash.
Raishbrook is seen trying to smother the blaze before handing the extinguisher to an approaching officer. The overpowering flames, however, eventually engulfed the vehicle.
“It was intense,” Raishbrook said. “We see a lot of things doing what we do, but to be that close, that quickly to something that severe and big of a story is kind of rare.”
The driver of the vehicle, said to be an unlicensed 14-year-old, was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
The front seat passenger, who was 18 years old, was also hospitalized in stable condition, Hollis said.
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“Young kids do unwise things,” Hollis said. “We all know that. It is absolutely not worth paying your life for that. This is an absolute tragedy. There are some families that will be suffering as a result of this.”
Hollis also noted the poor weather conditions from an ongoing rainstorm that likely made things worse.
“It’s a rainy night, it’s a slick night and we have people trying to drive away from the police thinking they’re in far bigger trouble than they are,” he said. “It’s just tragic.”
The car had apparently been reported stolen by the driver’s family Monday night.
No officers were injured in the incident. The victims’ identities have not been released.
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