Florida authorities said three teenagers – one 14-year-old and two 16-year-olds – stole a sport utility vehicle, sped away from officers and died in a fiery, violent crash early Sunday morning.
The 4:30 a.m. crash happened in Pinellas County.
A fourth teen in the SUV, who is 14, survived and is hospitalized.
All the teens all had criminal histories – including one who had gotten out of jail on July 31.
Reports indicate that a Ford Explorer and a Chrysler Sebring were stolen from a Clearwater car dealership Thursday. Both vehicles were spotted by deputies early Sunday morning. Deputies tried to apprehend the drivers of the cars, but didn’t pursue them. The sheriff’s office’s pursuit policy generally does not allow deputies to chase stolen cars.
Deputies believed the teens were using the stolen cars to commit burglaries. At one point, they set up a perimeter to try to catch the teens, but a deputy spotted the vehicles outside of the perimeter.
According to reports, the cars were in a “cat and mouse” game with each other, accelerating and slowing down, hitting speeds of 100 mph or more.
The deputy that spotted them did not initiate a high-speed chase, but the Explorer continued at about 100 mph when it hit another vehicle, caught fire and went airborne. The Explorer also hit a billboard pole.
The driver hit by the Explorer suffered minor injuries, reports indicate.
Officers found the Chrysler Sebring and arrested the two in that car; one is 16 and the other 18.
Drivers in the state of Florida are required to carry a minimum of $10,000 personal injury protection (PIP) and a minimum of $10,000 property damage liability (PDL) insurance. Sadly, many drivers fail to abide by this law and drive without insurance. When someone is injured in a car accident with someone who does not have insurance or does not have adequate insurance, things can become quite difficult for the injury victim.
Uninsured motorists are those who drive a car without any liability insurance coverage. According to the most recent data compiled by the Insurance Research Council, one in eight drivers on the road in the United States do not have liability insurance. Uninsured motorist insurance is purchased to protect against reckless and careless drivers who do not have liability insurance. If you are involved in an accident with someone who does not have liability insurance and you have purchased uninsured motorist insurance, your insurance provider should pay for your damages based on the policy limit of the uninsured motorist insurance you purchased. In the unfortunate event that you are not covered by uninsured motorist insurance, then you are left trying to get payment for your damages from the negligent uninsured driver, which is sadly something our Tampa Bay Auto Accident Injury Lawyers see quite frequently with car accident claims.
After an unfortunate auto accident, you could be facing medical bills and lost wages because of not being able to work. When a negligent motorist’s lack of insurance has caused you to turn to your own insurance company for coverage, you will want to make sure that you obtain fair compensation. Call us today at 727-823-0000 or contact us online to get the help you need to ensure your own insurance company does not act in bad faith.