Helicopter pilot films teens stealing Maserati from driveway before 123mph crash
A gun and black ski mask were among items removed from wreckage
Sheriff’s deputies in central Florida have shared video footage taken from a helicopter of three teenagers stealing a Maserati moments before it fatally crashed.
The teenagers, who were aged between 15 and 16, stole the Maserati from an address in St Petersburg, Florida, on Sunday morning before crashing at 123mph, police said in a statement.
Police units on the ground did not pursue the vehicle, which one of the teens was able to open, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said on Sunday.
That teenager, who has been named by the sheriff’s office as Keondrick Lang, allegedly found the car keys inside and ignited the engine before two others, Malachi Daniels and Mario Bonilla, got inside.
Travelling at speeds of at least 100mph, the teenagers struck a curb, causing the vehicle to flip.
Deputies said one of the three teenagers, Bonilla, was pronounced dead at the scene. Lang was said to be in critical condition, while Daniels was injured but expected to survive. Their condition on Wednesday was not clear.
The helicopter footage was released on Tuesday as an investigation into the incident continues. No charges have yet been filed.
Video shows the teenagers waiting for a few minutes before driving off, speeding, and eventually flipping into a front yard in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Deputies had been responding to an unrelated burglary nearby when the incident unfolded, with the teenagers taking off at the sound of police sirens, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri was reported as saying by Fox13.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has a no-pursuit policy regarding stolen vehicles to reduce the risk of injury or fatalities.
A gun, a black ski mask and a glove were recovered at the scene of the crash, the sheriff’s office said on Tuesday.