Suspect vehicle, Greensboro patrol car collided head-on at combined 130 mph in chase, crash that killed 3 teens
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A newly released report is shedding light on a deadly police chase that ended in the deaths of three teenagers.
Earlier this week, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol submitted a report to the Department of Motor Vehicles about the deadly crash that took place on July 17.
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At around 2:15 a.m. on July 17, a GPD officer spotted a vehicle going the wrong way on West Market Street at East Lake Drive and tried to pull the driver over.
According to the DMV-349 report, the suspect vehicle was driving at 90 mph and a GPD patrol car was driving at 55 mph while approaching one another on the 3900 block of Walker Avenue. The patrol car skidded for 47 feet before the two vehicles collided head-on. The suspect vehicle did not leave skid marks.
At the moment of impact, the suspect vehicle was driving at 85 mph and the patrol car was driving at 45 mph. That means the vehicles crashed at a combined 130 mph. The patrol car moved another nine feet after impact.
The suspect vehicle caught fire after the crash.
The driver, 14-year-old Kenyan Anthony Saxton-Reese, and another 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy were in the suspect vehicle during the crash. All three died.
Saxton-Reese and Brandon Bowie, another one of the three teens who died, had just graduated from Hairston Middle School in May.
The GPD officer who was in the patrol car suffered serious injuries and is still recovering.
State troopers are conducting an independent investigation into the crash. Greensboro police are also doing an internal investigation and the officers involved are being placed on administrative duty.
Police say that the NCSHP investigation is not yet complete and could take several weeks. Thompson will file for the release of the body camera footage once the reconstruction investigation is complete, per departmental policy.
The body camera and vehicle-mounted camera footage will then be released pending the approval of the petition by the court.
Per protocol, the GPD’s Professional Standards Division will conduct an internal investigation to determine whether departmental policies were followed.
“As members of the Greensboro community, we recognize that this is a tragic event that affects us all. Any loss of life is difficult, especially when it involves the loss of such young lives. Please continue to keep the families, first responders and all those affected by this incident in your prayers as we navigate through this challenging time,” said Deputy Chief Doug Tabler with the GPD.
Community reaction
“I thought that was some of the most ridiculous news I have ever heard in my life to die like that at that age,” said Latashia Barnes-Smith who works at Hairston Middle School.
A memorial at the crash site on Walker Avenue near the intersection of Home Street grew throughout the day on Thursday. An educator at Saxton and Bowie’s school took several minutes to look at the memorial and pray over the spot where three young lives were lost.
“I was praying for their souls,” Barnes-Smith said.
Barnes-Smith was in tears as she prayed.
“Every student at that school is one of my babies,” Barnes-Smith said.
Three of them were gone in an instant.
“They are funny boys. They are sweet boys once you get to know them … Like a lot of kids in the area, bad influences,” Barnes-Smith said.
Barnes-Smith says there needs to be more resources available to the kids and their families.
“If we would have stepped in, if we would have gotten them involved, if we would have positive influences, outside resources, an ability to put their focus and attention into something else other than the life they are currently in,” Barnes-Smith said.
It’s a cycle that she is sick and tired of witnessing.
“I am frustrated because I feel like there is too many of our kids dying like this. Too many of our Black kids dying like this … I think we failed them all, and I am not just talking about those three. I am talking about the other children that we have lost,” Barnes-Smith said.
She called on the community to step up and create change.
They need a community around them … We need to support the parents as well. The parents need help,” Barnes-Smith said.
She says her prayers are with the families right now, which is something everyone up and down Walker Avenue also stands behind.
“Without even knowing these boys, it is really, really tragic. It is hard not to think about their parents, siblings, classmates,” said Anna Bowers, who lives on Walker Avenue.
Greensboro police said the crash stemmed from a police chase. It started after an officer tried to pull over a car full of teenagers for driving the wrong way on West Market Street, but they didn’t stop. Minutes later, the car crashed into a police officer in a squad car, the officer was injured and three teens died at the scene.
“It is hard not to think about their parents, siblings, classmates. They were really young,” Bowers said.
A teacher’s assistant from HMS said Saxton and Bowie both had the best smiles and cracked the best jokes. She says they were respectful kids, and she was heartbroken that one bad decision ended their lives.
In a statement, Guilford County School said: “We are greatly saddened to learn about the loss of three of our students. crisis teams will be available to support students and staff. our hearts are with the families during this incredibly difficult time.”
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