Police: 5 teens ejected from vehicle in crash

Several teens were ejected from a vehicle in a crash after they fled from Gilbert police early Saturday morning, leaving three in critical condition and two with minor injuries..

Gilbert police attempted to stop a red four-door sedan after responding to a call at 4:43 a.m. The call referenced teenagers driving near the park, basketball court and splash pad area near Higley and Queen Creek roads, said Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

“The officer turns on his lights, the vehicle flees,” Gilbert police Sgt. Mark Marino told recounting the moments before the crash.

The teens were ejected from the vehicle after it rolled over several times.

Marino said police did not pursue the vehicle, but alerted neighboring law-enforcement agencies.

“The information that we had didn’t warrant us to pursue the vehicle,” Marino said. “Public safety is a higher paramount.”

About 10 minutes later, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office received a call that a vehicle had rolled over several times, ejecting those inside, after clipping another vehicle at the intersection of Power Road and the Loop 202-Santan Freeway.

When MCSO deputies arrived at the scene, they determined the vehicle was the same that had fled from Gilbert police. Among the injured were two 18year-olds, including the driver, and three passengers ranging between 15 and 17 years of age.

Enriquez said that when Gilbert police encountered the teens’ vehicle, officers “activated emergency lights.”

He said law-enforcement agencies have varying policies for when to pursue a vehicle.

“Gilbert does not pursue it (the vehicle),” told “They put it out to neighboring agencies.”

Witness accounts and evidence collected at the scene, according to an MCSO statement, suggested that the vehicle was speeding northbound on Power Road before it clipped another vehicle turning left onto Power Road from the Loop 202 off-ramp.

MCSO deputies responded to a 911 call of an accident at Power Road and the Loop 202-Santan Freeway.

All of the teens in the red sedan were transported to a local hospital. Three teens were in critical condition, while two sustained minor injuries. The driver of the other vehicle was also taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

MCSO has not determined if impairment was a factor in the crash, but are investigating the level of speed the red sedan was traveling, which may result in criminal charges, according to Enriquez.

Marino noted that the crash investigation would be handled by MCSO because of the jurisdiction.