Newly released body cam footage shows the moment police officers rescued two teenagers following a car crash just before the vehicle burst into flames, killing a third teen who was trapped in the back seat.
Three teenagers traveling in a Toyota Camry, driven by a 14-year-old girl, were on the road in Encino when the teen crashed into a traffic light pole near the intersection of Ventura and Balboa Boulevards on Feb. 20. Body camera footage from responding officers showed police breaking the window of the car to help pull the two front passengers out of the vehicle.
After successfully pulling them to safety, one of the officers asks a passenger if there were any other occupants in the car. The teen is heard telling authorities there was a third occupant, who became stuck under the driver’s seat during the impact.
Unfortunately, officers were unable to pull the 16-year-old girl out of the backseat in time before the car burst into flames. That teen, whose name has not been released, died at the scene.
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A witness at the scene said he tried to help officers save the girl, but the blaze made it impossible.
“We were fought back by the flames,” said Howard Raishbrook. “It was so intense at that point, it took over the whole car in what felt like seconds.”
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“Realizing that someone was in that car, and realizing that I’m that close to someone’s final moments -- its heart breaking,” Raishbrook said.
The other two occupants of the vehicle were identified only as the 14-year-old driver and an 18-year-old passenger. Their names were not released.
Before the crash, officers on patrol that night spotted the Camry driving without its headlights. Dash cam from a police cruiser shows law enforcement attempted to stop the car, but it refused to yield. Because of the rain, officers decided against engaging in a pursuit with the car but followed it from a distance.
It is unclear what caused the driver to crash into the pole. The case remains under investigation by the LAPD Traffic Collision Investigation Team.
