Stolen car slams into tree seconds into 90 mph chase, killing 3 teens, Texas cops say
.png "Six teens were in a stolen car when it crashed during a short police chase, killing three, Texas officials say.")
Three are dead after a stolen SUV packed with teenagers crashed just seconds into a high-speed police pursuit, Texas officials say.
Deputies “encountered” a stolen vehicle after midnight Jan. 2, kicking off a chase in the Houston suburb of Spring, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
A license plate reader had flagged the SUV as stolen, deputies told KHOU, and when they tried to pull the vehicle over, it sped away.
The vehicle reached speeds of 90 mph during the chase, deputies said. But about 40 seconds after the chase began, it ended with the stolen SUV slamming into a tree, the outlet reported.
There were six teens in the vehicle, all between 14 and 15 years old, deputies told the station. The driver and two others died.
The three remaining passengers were taken to a hospital in critical condition, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said on X, formerly Twitter.
Investigators are trying to determine what the teens were doing prior to the crash, HCSO Maj. John Nanny told KTRK.
“There were some masks recovered from the scene. They did have some screwdrivers and hammers in their possession,” he said. “At this point, it’s all preliminary, so we don’t really know what they were out doing.”
Spring is a roughly 25-mile drive north from Houston.
This story was originally published January 2, 2025 at 9:04 AM with the headline "Stolen car slams into tree seconds into 90 mph chase, killing 3 teens, Texas cops say."