Teen, 16, Likely Paralyzed After Crash In Stolen Car: Hartford PD

HARTFORD, CT — A 16-year-old Hartford boy is likely paralyzed from the neck down after he was involved in a crash with a stolen vehicle early Tuesday morning, according to police. The teen was a passenger in a stolen vehicle that was being driven by a 14-year-old girl from West Hartford when it crashed into a concrete pillar on the Trinity College campus in Hartford. Another 14-year-old girl from West Hartford was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash, according to Hartford Deputy Chief Brian J. Foley. The vehicle was determined to have been stolen out of West Hartford and the driver has been arrested, Foley said on Friday.

Hartford Police responded to Summit Street and New Britain Avenue at about 5 a.m. on Feb. 20 on the report of a crash with injuries. Foley said a stolen car was found crashed into a brick and concrete pillar on Trinity College's campus. The 16-year-old boy was trapped in the rear seat of the vehicle with a severe injury and he was extricated from the vehicle by Hartford firefighters.

Foley said the teen was taken to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center where he was listed in critical/stable condition with “significant neck injuries and is likely paralyzed from the neck down.”

The driver was sitting outside the vehicle when officers arrived and had sustained a minor injury, according to Foley. She was also taken to Children’s Medical Center. The third occupant, a 14-year-old girl from West Hartford, ran away from the crash and was eventually taken to CT Children’s by her friends in “yet another stolen vehicle,” according to Foley.

While at the hospital, the 14-year-old driver, “in the presence of her parents and police admitted she was the driver but refused to answer any more of the detective’s questions,” Foley said. Her injury was also consistent with being in the driver’s seat, according to Foley.

She was issued a summons at her West Hartford home on Feb. 22 and charged with operating without a license and reckless driving. She is due in Juvenile Court on March 3.

West Hartford Police are investigating the stolen vehicle.

Photos via the Hartford Police Department