Four Florida teens were killed following a high-speed chase that ended when a police officer stopped their alleged stolen vehicle by using a PIT maneuver.
The teens were aged 14 to 16, and all died following a chase that saw a car one of them was driving travel at speeds in excess of 100 mph, police said.
WLBT reported the speed and crash occurred on April 20 in Bradford County in northern Florida.
The teens were reportedly in a stolen Honda and the driver took off during an attempt by police to stop them. The chase was on and saw the teens traveling as fast as 111 mph.
Local deputies pulled back, but a state trooper continued the chase, ultimately deciding to use a precision immobilization technique — or PIT maneuver — to stop the speeding car.
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The car left the roadway and struck a cement pole near Waldo.
Images tell a story of a devastating collision.
A police chase in Florida with a stolen vehicle driving around 111 MPH and four Florida teenagers in the vehicle ended in tragedy for all four teens after the officer executed a PIT maneuver.
The teens were ages 14-16 years old and two of the teens were wearing ankle monitors,… pic.twitter.com/LyBFW5E9ha
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) April 29, 2024
Could this have been avoided?
Grief counselors were at Newberry High School in Newberry, Florida all week after several teenagers died in a chase involving state troopers in Bradford County.
Newberry city officials said all four teens were between the ages of 14 and 16. https://t.co/iAsnUWjfWt
— ABC7 Sarasota (@mysuncoast) April 27, 2024
WCJB-TV reported, it took firefighters roughly 90 minutes to remove the teens from the mangled wreckage.
Two of the teens were pronounced dead at the scene while the other two later died at an area hospital.
The Florida Highway Patrol issued a statement explaining the troper’s actions in a statement obtained by the Alachua Chronicle.
“The Trooper made intentional contact with the Honda, causing it to decelerate,” the agency said. “The Trooper used the break in speed to perform a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT maneuver) on the fleeing Honda to stop the threat created by the fleeing suspect. The Honda subsequently rolled over before making contact with a cement pole.”
The agency, which said the teens “appeared to be wearing ski masks,” added, “One of the occupants of the suspect vehicle was ejected and pronounced deceased on scene. Alachua County Fire Rescue transported the other occupants to an area hospital where, upon arrival, another occupant was pronounced deceased. Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this incident.”
The teens were not named, but according to WWSB, three of them had active warrants while two of them were wearing ankle monitors.
Police said the car that the teens were in had been stolen from the city of Gainesville, which is just west of Newberry, Florida, where at least two of the teens went to school.
School administrators made grief counselors available last week for Newberry High School students who were struggling with the deaths of their classmates.
