5 teens injured after crashing carjacked vehicle during Dallas police chase
Teens in stolen car injured during police chase crash
Five teenagers were injured after crashing a stolen sedan into a traffic light pole during a brief police chase. Dallas police said the in incident began as an armed carjacking in Old East Dallas.
DALLAS - Five teenagers were hospitalized late Tuesday night after crashing a carjacked sedan into a traffic light pole during a brief police chase, Dallas authorities said.
Carjacking and crash
5 teens hurt after police chase ends in crash
Five teenagers were hurt after a crime spree ended in a crash. Police say they found multiple handguns inside the vehicle after the crash, and all five teens were taken to the hospital.
What we know:
The incident began at 10:37 p.m. in Old East Dallas, where a man was carjacked at gunpoint by a group of armed juvenile suspects in the 4500 block of Live Oak Street, according to Dallas Police Department records. The suspects left the scene in the victim’s white Honda sedan.
Just before 11 p.m., a Flock license plate recognition camera flagged the stolen vehicle at an apartment complex in the 9400 block of Bruton Road in Pleasant Grove.
Responding patrol officers spotted the Honda traveling west on Bruton Road near South Buckner Boulevard. When officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop, the driver accelerated and sped off, initiating a pursuit.
The chase came to a violent end at 11:02 p.m. at the intersection of Bruton Road and Second Avenue. Police said the driver lost control of the sedan and slammed directly into a steel traffic signal support pole.
Officers found five teenagers inside the heavily damaged vehicle. Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics took all five suspects to local hospitals.
Police said one of the teens is in critical condition and the others have serious injuries, but all are expected to survive.
Investigators recovered multiple handguns from inside the crashed vehicle.
What they're saying:
Criminologist Alex del Carmen talked about the use of Flock camera technology in cases like this.
"The idea behind them is that this is a camera that is ongoing 24-7, and it is recording license plates as they pass by. And what happens is, once the license plate is read, it goes straight to a police department, the local police department, and it lets law enforcement know whether or not the car is being occupied by somebody who is a carjacker or somebody that is a criminal that is known to law enforcement but has not been apprehended yet," he said.
What's next:
Detectives from the Dallas Police Department’s robbery and vehicular crimes units, alongside crime scene investigators and patrol officers, are continuing to investigate the incident.
Charges against the juveniles are pending.
The Source: Information in this article is from the Dallas Police officers at the scene and an interview with Criminologist Alex del Carmen.