Teens jump from runaway car on Va. highway
Apr 9, 2013, 11:37 PM
MINT SPRING, Va. (AP) – Two teens leapt from a speeding car with malfunctioning brakes in Virginia on Tuesday before a state trooper used his patrol car to force it into an interstate highway guardrail.
The car’s passenger and the Virginia State Police sergeant who stopped the vehicle were taken to the hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening.
A State Police news release said the two teens were heading south in a 1998 Mazda Protege when the car’s passenger called 911 to report that its brakes were not working near Weyers Cave.
Nineteen-year-old Sean Wies told officials that the car was going about 60 miles per hour but was gaining and losing speed based on the grade of the highway.
Police positioned their vehicles around the car in order to keep other vehicles on the interstate from being hit.
As the car reached speeds topping 100 miles per hour, Weis and the 19-year-old driver, Amy Guevara of Harrisonburg, jumped from the vehicle near Mint Spring. Sgt. C.J. Aikens then positioned his patrol car in front of the Mazda to stop it and force into the guardrail, officials said.
Wies and Aikens were taken to an area hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. Guevara was not injured but was transported to the hospital as a precaution.
Officials said the Virginia State Police Accident Reconstruction Team responded to the scene to investigate the incident. No charges will be filed.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
