SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - A violent crash in Paradise Hills was a result of three teens in a stolen car, trying to outrun police officers.
The chase started around 6:00 p.m. Tuesday and ended with the crash at Reo Drive and Rancho Hills Drive.
"Nothing like this has ever happened - not in this neighborhood," said Paradise Hills resident, Tiffani Phillips.
Phillips and her 11-year-old daughter were heading home Tuesday evening, when they drove up to the disturbing aftermath of this violent two-vehicle collision right in front of a local church.
Police had been in pursuit of a green Honda Civic, reportedly stolen by three teenagers from a Paradise Hills home late Tuesday afternoon.
While the car's owner initially tried to trail the suspects in another vehicle, he eventually lost them, but the alleged car thieves had not gotten away.
"A couple minutes later the officers spotted the stolen vehicle and tried to initiate a traffic stop, as soon as the officers put their lights on, the car sped away at a high rate of speed," Lt. Mark Bennett with the San Diego Police Department.
Racing an estimated 60 miles an hour, the suspect behind the wheel of the stolen Civic, heading westbound on Rancho Hills Drive, made it only a block and a half when he ran a red light and slammed into a white Ford Excursion, heading southbound on Reo Drive on a green light.
While the mother driving the SUV, along with her eight-year-old and 13-year-old sons, received only minor injuries, the three teens inside the stolen Civic were more seriously hurt. One suffered a broken femur, who had to be extricated with the Jaws of Life. All three were rushed to Scripps Mercy Hospital.
"There's never been an accident where so many people were injured," said Eunice Espino, a Paradise Hills Resident." "It could have been tragic."
While we do not know the current conditions of those three teenaged males rushed to Scripps Mercy, police say their injuries were not life-threatening. As of this report, the charges they could face are unknown.
The two boys, ages eight and 13, in the Ford Excursion were taken to Children's hospital to be evaluated, as a precaution.
