Car Accident: Sisters Escaped Injuries in car blaze near 15 Freeway
October 1, 2010
Phelan – Two sisters in a stolen car narrowly escaped injury after it sped into a Chevron station and burned down Thursday night, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
The accident started off when the teenage girls sneaked away from a Hemet group home around 4 am Thursday. They hitchhiked, found a 1992 Jeep Cherokee parked on the street in southwest Riverside County, and stole it after seeing that the vehicle was open and its keys were left on the floor, CHP Officer Eric Barrow said.
They drove north to Highway 138 in Phelan. A motorist saw the girls driving into a dirt road near northbound 15 Freeway off-ramp, then turning toward the Chevron station.
Barrow said that the vehicle accelerated to about 55 mph. Without brake lights, they veered into the gas station and sheared off a gas pump, causing the vehicle to immediately burst into flames. Cal Fire Captain John Flesher said that the girls headed toward the station maybe because the Jeep was running out of gas.
Fortunately, the fuel pumps automatically shut off in case it accidentally gets sheared off, according to Flesher. Employees were also able to shut off other pumps through an emergency switch.
The 17-year-old driver and her 15-year-old sister initially gave false names to the CHP but later admitted the truth. Both were detained and questioned, but not arrested. The CHP plans to charge the driver with grand theft auto.
The car was reported stolen to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department at 9:30 am. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire by 9 am, but the vehicle has already been destroyed.