Four teenagers have died in a police chase after officers used a maneuver designed to get their car to stop but they span out of control instead.
The Florida teens, who were between the ages of 14 and 16, all went to Newberry High School in Gainsville, Florida. Two of the teenagers died at the scene of the crash in the Waldo area, while the other two died from their injuries days after the crash in UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville.
Jabril Cheevers and Lawrence McClendon Jr. were two of the teens who died. Lawrence was a sophomore and a defensive back for the Newberry High School football team. His family have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to help cover the funeral costs.
The SUV that the four teens were in was reported to have been stolen from Gainsville just hours before the crash. Police started a pursuit and the car was soon picked up by a license plate reader. As officers continued to pursue the car and called for backup, a Bradford County sheriff’s deputy confirmed theirs was the stolen SUV.
Deputies confirmed that there were several people inside the SUV and tried to get it to pull over. It looked initially as if the car was slowing down, but then the driver suddenly hit the gas and sped away, reaching speeds of up to 111mph.
Police couldn’t keep up as a device in their car prevents them from accelerating too quickly. Florida Highway Patrol were then called, so a trooper continued the chase. The trooper rammed into the side of the SUV using a precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver, which is designed to get the vehicle to stop. It involves police hitting the back of a car while it’s moving so it spins around and officers can then surround it.
But instead the SUV rolled over and smashed into a cement pole. In a statement, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) said: “The Trooper made intentional contact with the Honda, causing it to decelerate. 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.”
It took over an hour and a half to pull the four teens out of the wreck, according to WCJB. Col. Brad Smith, chief deputy for the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office, said: “We confirmed with the Gainesville Police Department that they still had that car entered as stolen, and the officer waited until he had three backup units with him before he initiated the traffic stop.
“They did start to pull over on the shoulder of the road, but before they came to a complete stop, they accelerated again, and that is when the chase was on. The [Florida] Highway Patrol was, at that point, the only vehicle that could actually keep up with them.
“Our vehicles cannot match the speed that they were going, but we did continue one of our units to try and stay as close as they could as a backup unit to FHP until Alachua County’s units were able to catch up to them.” Two of the teenagers killed in the SUV were wearing ankle monitors and three of them had active warrants, reports WLBT. Some also appeared to be wearing ski masks.
In a message sent to parents of Newberry High School students, principal James Sheppard said: “It is with great sadness that I share the two Newberry High School students who were in the serious car accident this past weekend have now passed away from their injuries. Thank you for keeping both of these families in your thoughts during this difficult time.”
Ed Johnson, the school’s head football coach, said: “Lawrence [McClendon] was a great kid to be around and have in our program. As a football player he was competitive, talented and relentless with a knack for making big plays. He will be truly missed by everyone in the Panther football family.”
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Author: thedailycrime1
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