Five people were seriously injured in a flaming crash Thursday morning after a 16-year-old crashed his car into a tree in the Robinson Heights neighborhood, Florida Highway Patrol said.
At about 5:30 a.m., the boy drove his Toyota Camry into the tree in the 3600 block of Southeast 15th Street, according to an FHP report. None of the people in the car were wearing seatbelts.
The driver and one passenger, 21-year-old Christopher Morten, suffered critical injuries. Three other boys in the car, a 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds, had serious injuries, according to the report.
When first responders arrived, they worried the passengers would be trapped inside the car, but they found them on the ground beside the mangled, flaming car, said Gainesville Fire Rescue Operations Chief Michael Cowart.
The accident is being investigated to determine why the driver hit the tree, Cowart said. He said the boy was likely driving at a high rate of speed before crashing.
They were taken to UF Health Shands Hospital, according to the report.
Between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15, GFR responded to 13 crashes where people were trapped inside their car, twice the number of crashes that happened during the same time last year, Cowart said.
Cowart said motorists and passengers should take safety precautions when on the road, including putting down electronic devices when driving and following speed limits.
“We’re urging people to slow down because that’s what’s going to prevent the significant injuries,” he said.
Five people, including four teenagers, were seriously injured Thursday morning in a flaming crash, Florida Highway Patrol said. None of them were wearing seatbelts when the driver, a 16-year-old Gainesville resident, crashed into a tree in the Robinson Heights neighborhood.
