Raleigh crash that killed 5 teens on Capital Blvd. involved stolen SUV, police say
A Raleigh crash that killed five teenage boys on Capital Boulevard early Sunday morning involved an SUV that had been stolen in September, according to a police report.
Raleigh police said the boys were heading downtown in an SUV on Capital Boulevard around 6:15 a.m. Sunday when the vehicle “ran off the road to the right and struck a concrete bridge abutment.”
All five died from their injuries.
Laura Hourigan, a police spokeswoman, said they were driving at an estimated speed of 80 mph, and none of them were wearing seatbelts.
The SUV, a 2013 Lexus, was reported stolen on Sept. 12, according to a police report.
Police did not release any of the names of those who died, or say whether any of them were believed to have been involved in the theft.
At least three of five teenage boys killed in the crash were students at Wake County schools, The News & Observer previously reported.
The teenagers, the youngest of whom was just 13, attended schools in Wake Forest and Raleigh, with another attending a high school in Lumberton, officials have confirmed.
Zymeer Dennis, a 14-year-old ninth grader at Wake Forest High School, was one of those killed in the crash, according to an email Principal Patti Hamler sent to parents.
Hamler advised parents that counseling services were available for students.
“These are heavy moments that we will work through together,” she said in the email. “In the spirit of honoring Zymeer, please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
Jeremiah Williams, 17, also died in the crash, according to Lumberton Senior High School Principal Larry Brooks.
Williams was a student at the Robeson County school.
“While Jeremiah and his family had recently moved into our district, the impact of this tragedy still resonates with staff and students,” he said. “Jeremiah will be forever remembered as a part of Pirate Nation.”
Maikeal Freeman and Lebron Staton, both Raleigh eighth graders, were among the others killed in the crash, a Wake County Public School System spokesperson said.
Freeman was a student at Carroll Magnet Middle School. Staton attended Ligon Magnet Middle School.
A fifth teenager, 17, was also killed in the crash.
