Stolen Car Driven by Boy, 11, Crashes; 4 Youths Injured

An 11-year-old boy driving a stolen car ran a stop sign and crashed into a utility pole and a palm tree Monday, seriously injuring himself and three friends, also children, police said.

The boy, whose name was not released, was driving an estimated 70 m.p.h. when he crashed the car at 3:08 p.m. at Iowa and Wyoming streets. None of the four children in the car was wearing a seat belt, and all had to be extricated from the car, Sgt. Dave Stronach said.

“It’s real sad,” Stronach said. “They just ripped the car off from someone they didn’t know. To have kids this young involved is definitely unusual.”

A police officer on patrol saw the car drive past a stop sign at Pine and Wyoming streets, police said.

“They ran a stop sign in front of the officer,” Stronach said. “But the officer never got a chance to chase them. He made a U-turn, turned on his red lights and they crashed. There was never a chase.”

The 11-year-old driver apparently was trying to make a U-turn when he lost control, police said.

He and a 12-year-old in the front seat were taken by ambulance to UCI Medical Center in Orange, police said.

An 11-year-old and a 12-year-old in the back seat were more seriously injured and were airlifted to Long Beach Memorial Hospital.

All four boys suffered head and face injuries. They were in serious condition late Monday but their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, police said.

All of them live in Westminster.

Police said the car, a white 1984 Toyota Corolla, had been stolen moments earlier in front of an apartment complex in the 14300 block of Village Way, about four blocks from the accident scene.

“This was no joy ride,” Stronach said. “They stole that car from someone they did not know.”

Police said they have not yet interviewed any of the boys because of their injuries and do not know which of the four actually stole the car. Nor would police say how it was done.

No arrests have been made and police are continuing their investigation.

Stronach said it was fortunate that no bystanders were injured.

“At 70 m.p.h. in a residential area at that time of day, you could have had kids on bikes or any number of innocent bystanders who could have been hit,” he said. “It just wasn’t anybody’s time to go.”

The car theft and subsequent accident took place in a densely populated section of the city near Westminster Avenue and Golden West Street. The crash and rescue helicopters drew an estimated 500 to 600 onlookers, police said.

“It was a real circus,” said Stronach.