Troutman, North Carolina - A car trying to outrun a police officer ran off a road and crashed, killing all seven teenagers inside, the highway patrol said. The driver was identified as a 15-year-old, and the father of one of the victims said none of the teens had licences and the group had been borrowing cars for joyrides.
A police officer from Troutman began chasing the car early on Monday after seeing the 2001 Dodge Intrepid weaving in its lane, the patrol said.
"They passed us going at 130 to 160km/h, with the police car passing us," said a witness, Brandon Jackson.
Troutman police Chief Eric Henderson said Officer Keith Bills chased the car for about a kilometre on US21 highway until it flipped over after hitting an embankment, crashed into a tree and then skidded to a stop upside down in a stream.
"It was swerving, slowing down and speeding up, just erratic driving," Bills told the Statesville Record & Landmark. Bills said he did not see the crash, but found the wreckage later.
The highway patrol identified the dead as driver John Lindsey Myers, 15, and passengers David Wayne Summers, 14, Quentin Maurice Reed, 18, Antonio Miller, 13, Domnick Hurtt, 17, Erica Stevenson, 15, and Antoinette Griffin, 13, all from Statesville.
All were pronounced dead at the scene, and none was wearing a seat belt, the highway patrol said. - Sapa-AP