Families of teens in Worcester crash seek answers about police response

WORCESTER, Mass. — Tyrone Gamble and Erica Clay’s nephew is in critical condition after a horrific crash Saturday night.

He was one of five teens in a white SUV that crashed into two other cars by Chandler and Main Streets in Worcester.

A 13-year-old girl died in the crash, while the four others were rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.

“We’re not making any assumptions or jumping to any conclusions, but we you know, all the families need to be supported, and we just want to get the right information, so we all know what’s going on,” said Gamble.

Families of the victims are demanding answers from police after seeing surveillance video leading up to the crash.

In the video, you see the white SUV speeding by, and about ten seconds later a police cruiser.

But Worcester Police say their officer was not chasing after the SUV at the time.

“It’s kind of hard to believe because they are right behind them with their lights on,” said Clay.

Police say the officer had lights on as he was heading to another assignment.

Families question why the officer turns around to head away from the crash.

“You can tell people in that area heard something loud enough that made them come out and look and they’re running directly in front of the officer,” said Clay.

Police say the officer was busy talking to someone at the time and didn’t see the crash.

“So they’re not going to be looking straight, they’re going to be looking sideways if that person was talking to them,” said Sgt. James Foley. “Once they relay the information that they’re not pursuing the motor vehicle, they make a U-turn, now they’re looking in the rearview mirror to make a turn, so their eye contact is never going forward and see those people running.”

According to the surveillance video, just about a minute after the crash, you can see the police officers responding to the scene.

“So they’re a lot further back, almost 1000 feet back when that accident occurs and they’re not going to see it from that roadway,” said Sgt. Foley.

The victim’s family says they’re meeting with police again to get a better picture of what happened that night.

Police say after the crash, they learned the SUV was stolen, but they’re not filing any charges yet while the teenagers recover from serious injuries.

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