‘Screaming for their lives.’ Teen dies as youths pulled from fiery wreck, CA cops say
Officers pulled screaming teens from the smoking and flaming wreckage of a stolen car on a California interstate as a video captured the fiery scene, police reported.
The 15-year-old driver of the car died in a collision with a big rig on Interstate 710 in Long Beach around 10:30 p.m. Monday, May 13, police told KABC. Three other teens, ages 13, 14 and 15, were injured.
Sierra Cobb, who followed her stolen Kia Optima using her LoJack tracking app and notified police, told KNBC she “can’t stop thinking” about the terrible scene.
“Just watching bodies being pulled out. Girls screaming for their lives,” Cobb said. “Just hearing the screams. I will never get over hearing kids scream for their lives.”
Officers in a police helicopter were following the Kia Optima when it sped onto Interstate 710 and hit a big rig, Long Beach police said in a news release.
No police vehicles were in pursuit at the time, the California Highway Patrol told KCAL.
Video posted by Instagram user Lojackhit and reposted by police shows officers dragging two teens away from the smoking wreckage. A third sits on a curb.
As flames engulf the twisted Kia, officers scramble to free a teenage girl as she begins to scream at the rising flames, the video shows.
“Get her out of there!” a nearby officer shouts. “Get her out of there!”
The officers finally wrestle the girl from the wreck and drag her to safety as other officers try to quench the flames with a fire extinguisher, the video shows.
The three surviving teens, two girls and a boy, had moderate injuries, the CHP told KCAL. The 22-year-old driver of the big rig was not hurt.
“It’s just a sad story to hear that somebody lost their life over a stolen vehicle,” Cobb told KNBC. “You didn’t get anything from it, except a lost life.”
The crash closed Interstate 710 for several hours, KTLA reported.
Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish said in a statement that he commended officers for their “heroic actions.”
“I am extremely proud of their courage and willingness to run toward this dangerous situation in order to rescue the occupants,” Hebeish said. “I believe their actions prevented the further loss of life and demonstrates their commitment to public safety.”
Long Beach is about a 25-mile drive south from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published May 15, 2024 at 2:52 PM with the headline "‘Screaming for their lives.’ Teen dies as youths pulled from fiery wreck, CA cops say."