A teenage girl was killed in a crash involving two carjacked vehicles in Northeast D.C., police said. New4’s Joseph Olmo reports on the latest and the increasing number of car thefts in the District.
A teenage girl was killed in a crash involving two carjacked vehicles in Northeast D.C. early Thursday, police say.
The crash happened just after 2 a.m. on 12th Street and Brentwood Road NE, according to D.C. police.
The teenage girl was inside one of the stolen cars. Her identity was not immediately released.
A juvenile female is in custody, police said. It is not yet known what might have led up to the crash, or if the victim and the suspect knew each other.
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Bryan Lofty, who lives in the area said he heard the crash and went outside to see what was going on.
“It was a mess. Fluids everywhere; car into the wall right here," Lofty said.
An SUV was overturned in the crash. The other vehicle was heavily damaged in the front.
At the scene, an electric pole was cut in half. The car’s tires left tracks up the road to a Jeep Wrangler parked on the street. The Jeep was not one of the stolen vehicles.
Police said one of the cars was stolen from the 3700 block of Southern Avenue SE in D.C. about 12:20 a.m.
The other was stolen from Prince George's County just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, police said. A rideshare driver said her car was hit from behind, and when she got out to inspect the damager, several people from the striking vehicle took her car with her passenger inside. That passenger was dropped off uninjured about 30 minutes later.
Vehicle thefts are up significantly this year in the District. In early October, a Texas congressman became the 754th carjacking in the District in 2023.
According to police statistics, 2,877 cars were stolen last year. So far this year, there have been about 5,795 cars stolen.
“It starts at home. I have kids and so my big thing... So, parenting is where I believe it starts," Lofty said.
This is a developing story. Stay with News4 for more updates.
