Teen girl fleeing cops crashes stolen car, injuring 87-year-old woman, sheriff says

A 17-year-old girl fleeing the cops in a stolen car injured an 87-year-old woman in a crash after running a red light in south Wichita, law enforcement said. The teen is also suspected of driving without a license and driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

A sheriff’s deputy first advised dispatch at around 7:23 p.m. Sunday that he was following a stolen car southbound on I-235 near Seneca, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Tim Myers said in a news release. The car was a silver 2008 Ford Focus reported stolen by Andover police.

The deputy planned to follow the car, which was following all traffic laws, until backup arrived, Myers said. The Ford Focus left the interstate at MacArthur and pulled into a gas station at MacArthur and Broadway.

“The deputy activated his emergency equipment as the suspect vehicle pulled up to the gas pumps and stopped,” Myers said. “The suspect vehicle sat stationary for 4-5 seconds until the deputy exited his vehicle and told the driver to exit her car. The suspect vehicle then fled from the stop and went south on Broadway.

“The deputy was not pursuing the vehicle but watching it as he traveled south on Broadway. A short time later he advised that the vehicle was involved in a crash at 47th Street South and Broadway where it had run the red light and struck a white 2014 Lincoln MKZ.”

The girl’s flight from law enforcement in the stolen car lasted about one mile before the crash.

The 17-year-old girl driving the Ford “attempted to flee” after the crash, Myers said, but was arrested by another deputy. The teenager was taken by a deputy to Via Christi Hospital St. Francis before she was booked into the juvenile detention facility on suspicion of aggravated battery, felony flee and elude, possession of stolen property, driving under the influence and no driver’s license.

A 45-year-old woman who was a passenger in the Ford was taken by ambulance to Via Christi Hospital St. Joseph, Myers said. The 87-year-old woman driving the Lincoln was taken by ambulance to the same hospital.

This story was originally published March 25, 2019 at 3:37 PM.