Quiet Lunatic
04-11-2009, 08:48 PM
Simsbury Police: Youths Steal and Crash Car
David Owens | Hartford Courant
April 8, 2009
http://www.courant.com/media/photo/2009-04/14929512-08072307.jpg
Three Simsbury middle school students are lucky to be alive today after the car they were riding in slammed into a utility pole at East Weatogue Street and Route 185 this morning.
The car's driver, an eighth-grader at Simsbury's Henry James Memorial School, and a back-seat passenger were taken by ambulance to Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford. The third student, whom firefighters had to cut from the mangled car, was taken by helicopter to the children's hospital.
Simsbury police Chief Peter Ingvertsen said that the girl and two boys who were in the car are 14 and 15 years old. Because they are juveniles, he said he could not release their names or release any information about them. He did say all three are Simsbury residents.
Ingvertsen and Simsbury Fire Marshal Patrick Tourville said that despite their injuries, the three are lucky. The stolen 1998 Subaru Outback station wagon was wrapped around the utility pole. Had one of the three been in the front passenger seat, they'd have been killed.
"If anybody was in that passenger front seat, it would be a totally different news story," Tourville said.
"They're lucky their injuries are not greater than what they are," Ingvertsen said. "Somebody was on their side."
The incident began after a town resident called police around 2:20 a.m. to report that he'd chased two people from his front porch. The resident gave police a description of the car, a white 1998 Subaru Outback station wagon, in which they apparently fled, police said.
An officer spotted the car about 3:40 a.m. on Route 10 in Simsbury near Drake Hill Road. When the officer approached the car, it sped away.
The next time the officer saw the car, it was wrapped around the utility pole at East Weatogue Street and Route 185. Firefighters, medics, UConn paramedics and police attended to the three injured people in the car.
Tourville said keeping the crash scene safe was a primary concern because the power lines were still energized. A fire started one pole away from the crash scene, he said.
The pole the car struck "was split in half and was actually resting on the hood of the car," Tourville said. "We removed two of the victims and they were transported. It took us a while to extricate the third person due to the damage the car sustained from the accident. It was a prolonged extrication to free the leg of the person in the back seat." That person went to the hospital by helicopter.
Connecticut Light & Power Co. crews de-energized the lines, which knocked out power near the crash scene and part of Bloomfield.
East Weatogue Street remains closed as utility crews make repairs.
Route 185 was closed for several hours but reopened in time for the morning rush hour.
Police are still investigating the crash.
http://www.courant.com/media/photo/2009-04/14744292-08072303.jpg
More Info
http://www.courant.com/community/news/fv/hc-simsbury-crash-0411.artapr11,0,203768.story
David Owens | Hartford Courant
April 8, 2009
http://www.courant.com/media/photo/2009-04/14929512-08072307.jpg
Three Simsbury middle school students are lucky to be alive today after the car they were riding in slammed into a utility pole at East Weatogue Street and Route 185 this morning.
The car's driver, an eighth-grader at Simsbury's Henry James Memorial School, and a back-seat passenger were taken by ambulance to Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford. The third student, whom firefighters had to cut from the mangled car, was taken by helicopter to the children's hospital.
Simsbury police Chief Peter Ingvertsen said that the girl and two boys who were in the car are 14 and 15 years old. Because they are juveniles, he said he could not release their names or release any information about them. He did say all three are Simsbury residents.
Ingvertsen and Simsbury Fire Marshal Patrick Tourville said that despite their injuries, the three are lucky. The stolen 1998 Subaru Outback station wagon was wrapped around the utility pole. Had one of the three been in the front passenger seat, they'd have been killed.
"If anybody was in that passenger front seat, it would be a totally different news story," Tourville said.
"They're lucky their injuries are not greater than what they are," Ingvertsen said. "Somebody was on their side."
The incident began after a town resident called police around 2:20 a.m. to report that he'd chased two people from his front porch. The resident gave police a description of the car, a white 1998 Subaru Outback station wagon, in which they apparently fled, police said.
An officer spotted the car about 3:40 a.m. on Route 10 in Simsbury near Drake Hill Road. When the officer approached the car, it sped away.
The next time the officer saw the car, it was wrapped around the utility pole at East Weatogue Street and Route 185. Firefighters, medics, UConn paramedics and police attended to the three injured people in the car.
Tourville said keeping the crash scene safe was a primary concern because the power lines were still energized. A fire started one pole away from the crash scene, he said.
The pole the car struck "was split in half and was actually resting on the hood of the car," Tourville said. "We removed two of the victims and they were transported. It took us a while to extricate the third person due to the damage the car sustained from the accident. It was a prolonged extrication to free the leg of the person in the back seat." That person went to the hospital by helicopter.
Connecticut Light & Power Co. crews de-energized the lines, which knocked out power near the crash scene and part of Bloomfield.
East Weatogue Street remains closed as utility crews make repairs.
Route 185 was closed for several hours but reopened in time for the morning rush hour.
Police are still investigating the crash.
http://www.courant.com/media/photo/2009-04/14744292-08072303.jpg
More Info
http://www.courant.com/community/news/fv/hc-simsbury-crash-0411.artapr11,0,203768.story