Two minors are dead and three other people, including an 18-year-old, are hospitalized with serious injuries after a van fleeing a Texas state trooper overturned and caught fire in Fort Worth on Saturday. Officials said the driver and one passenger who died in the crash were both minors.
According to WFAA, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper spotted a white Toyota Sienna traveling at a high rate of speed near the intersection of Northeast 28th Street and Lulu Street. The trooper attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled, the station reported.
The trooper lost sight of the Sienna, and later found it overturned and on fire, per the same account. Fort Worth police officers and the trooper pulled three injured passengers from the burning vehicle before they were taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
Who Was Hurt In The Crash
The three injured passengers included two minors and 18-year-old Samuel Tapia, the report notes. All three were described as being in serious condition after being transported to the hospital. DPS is investigating the crash, though the article's supplied facts do not detail what led the driver to flee or what role speed ultimately played in the wreck.
A Pattern Of Fort Worth Roadway Tragedies
This is not the only recent Fort Worth crash tied to a DPS pursuit. In October, a motorcyclist was critically injured on Interstate 30 after being pursued by a DPS trooper, according to star-telegram.com. A Fort Worth Fire Department spokesperson said that rider was taken to the hospital in critical condition, and all westbound lanes of I-30 between Cherry Lane and South Las Vegas Trail were shut down as crews worked the scene. That crash remained under investigation, with a DPS spokesperson telling the outlet that further details about what led to the pursuit were not immediately released.
Fort Worth has also seen other serious single-vehicle wrecks in recent months. The Star-Telegram reported that one person was killed and two others injured when an SUV struck a light pole in the city, with police saying preliminary investigations indicated speed may have been a factor. One of the injured in that crash suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, while another had minor injuries.
A separate wrong-way crash on State Highway 121 near North Riverside Drive killed a Jeep's driver along with two adult female passengers in a sedan, according to cbsnews.com. Police said the Jeep's driver had been traveling the wrong way; the sedan's adult driver and a child passenger were hospitalized and expected to survive.
What Comes Next
DPS has not released additional findings about Saturday's crash, and the circumstances that led the Sienna's driver to flee the trooper remain part of the ongoing investigation. Hoodline will update this story as officials release more information.
