Teen dies, 2 injured in fiery crash after 14-year-old driver rolls car in East El Paso

Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times
·2 min read
2

A stolen car driven by a 14-year-old boy crashed in a high-speed, fiery wreck that killed another teenager late Saturday night in far East El Paso, police officials said.

A 17-year-old boy, who was a passenger, died in the burning car crash at 10:43 p.m. in the 11700 block of Pebble Hills Boulevard near Montwood Middle School, police said.

The 14-year-old driver and a 13-year-old girl also were injured, suffered serious burns and were flown to the Lubbock burn center for treatment, police said in a news statement.

All three teens are El Paso residents, police said. Their names have not been disclosed.

Juvenile crime:Teen arrested after boy, 15, seriously injured in attack in Northeast El Paso

Investigators with the Special Traffic Investigations Unit determined that the car, a silver 2007 Chevrolet Impala, had been reported stolen days earlier, officials said.

The investigation found that the 14-year-old boy allegedly was driving the car at a high speed westbound on Pebble Hills when he lost control, police said. The car hit a decorative boulder in the center median, causing it to roll before hitting a light pole and ending up on its roof as the car burst into flames.

When officers first arrived, they found the 17-year-old boy dead inside the burning car. The driver and the girl, who had been in the back seat, had left the scene, police said.

Traffic fatalities:Five die in rash of El Paso-area traffic deaths over MLK holiday weekend

Investigators "learned that the two teens had managed to get out of the burning car and were picked up by someone and fled the scene," a police news release stated.

The boy and the girl were later found at a hotel on Gateway East Boulevard. The teens both had serious burns and were taken to a hospital before being flown to the regional burn center in Lubbock, authorities said.

An investigation continues into the deadly crash. According to Police Department figures, there have been nine traffic-related deaths in El Paso this year, compared with six at this time last year.

More:Freeway racing suspected in deadly El Paso sports car crash on I-10

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso teen dies, 2 hurt in fiery wreck after driver, 14, rolls car