HUMBOLDT — Three teenagers were injured in what is reported as an alcohol-related, one-vehicle crash east of Humboldt.
The crash was reported via an automated phone app that called 911 a little after 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, according to a press release from the Allen County Sheriff’s Department.
A 2016 Hyundai Elantra driven by a 16-year-old is believed to have been driving “at a very high rate of speed” on Hawaii Road about five miles east of Humboldt, the report said.
“I don’t know how anyone wasn’t severely injured or killed,” Sheriff Bryan Murphy said.
The vehicle traveled through the intersection at 2200 Street, where the road surface changes from blacktop to gravel.
The driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, which skidded more than 100 yards and became airborne. The vehicle struck the top strand of a barbed wire fence, crashed into a pasture and a gate. It then flipped end-over-end multiple times for another 80 yards and hit another barbed-wire fence before coming to rest right side up.
The driver and two passengers, ages 18 and 19, were taken by ambulance to Allen County Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“We really push seat belt usage, and I know they work. We believe all three occupants were wearing them; one rear-seat passenger was still wearing hers when the first deputy arrived, and all the vehicle’s airbags were deployed as well,” Murphy said.
“I know they are getting to be old sayings, but no matter the age, buckle up and, please, don’t drink and drive.”
The sheriff’s department is requesting charges of driving under the influence, reckless driving, minor in possession of alcohol and other traffic charges against the driver, and charges of being a minor in possession of alcohol against the passengers.
Names were not released.
