DES MOINES, Iowa — Three teenagers are dead and one is hospitalized after a stolen vehicle crashed Wednesday afternoon, Des Moines police said in a press release.
Police first noticed a stolen 2013 Hyundai Sonata near 9th Street and Center Street around 12:40 p.m. Wednesday. Law enforcement monitored the vehicle as it drove toward MacRae Park, located at 1021 Davis Avenue.
When a marked police vehicle entered the park area, the driver left the roadway and drove into the grass and around the patrol car before speeding away. Officers did not follow the vehicle.
The car crashed only five minutes later around the 600 block of Davis Avenue.
One person died at the scene, while first responders took the three other occupants to a local hospital. Two of the occupants transported to hospitals later died, while the third, an 18-year-old man, is still in the hospital.
The deceased occupants have been identified as 18-year-old Jamarion Jackson, 15-year-old Eric Vortes Jr. and 15-year-old James "JT" Taylor III.
Police believe the car was driving east on Davis Avenue at "a high rate of speed" before running the stop sign at SW 9th Street and continuing east, before leaving the road and striking a tree. All occupants were ejected from the car.
Davis Avenue was closed between SW 9th Street and Courtland Drive, but has since been reopened.
Police have since confirmed the car was taken sometime Tuesday or Wednesday from Sixth Avenue, just across the river from Birdland Park.
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