15-Year-Old Driver From CT Causes I-95 Chain Reaction Crash: Report

RYE, NY — A 15-year-old teen, with swapped-out Connecticut plates, led police on a wild chase across several jurisdictions, sending more than a dozen to the hospital in the process, according to state troopers.

Hearst Connecticut reports that the 15-year-old driver is from Fairfield and three passengers inside the car were from Bridgeport and a fourth passenger was from Milford.

New York State Police say that on Monday, around 2:16 a.m., troopers from New Rochelle received a Be On The Lookout (BOLO) alert from Westchester County police about an erratic vehicle that had fled from the NYPD's 45th Precinct and was believed to be traveling north on the New England Thruway, towards the Connecticut state line.

State police staged near Exit 17 (Chatsworth Ave. in Larchmont) and saw two vehicles traveling at high speed. After initiating a pursuit, troopers lost sight of the first vehicle, but continued after the second vehicle. State police say that the three-minute pursuit covered five miles, and reached speeds up to 130 mph.

During the chase, a City of Rye Police Department officer entered I-95 to assist and attempted to slow traffic down north of Exit 19 (Rye Playland), ahead of the pursuit. A chain-reaction crash then took place, involving the fleeing vehicle and three other uninvolved vehicles. State police say that troopers were not involved in the crash.

The fleeing vehicle, a 2002 Lexus GS300 with Connecticut license plates not registered to the car, struck the three other vehicles as it approached slowed traffic.

The driver of the Lexus vehicle, a 15-year-old male, and four juvenile passengers were taken for evaluation of neck and back pain.

There were eleven people in the three other cars that were involved in the chain reaction crash.

A 2014 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, driven by Selenge Gankhuyag, had one additional passenger. Both were taken to Westchester Medical Center.

A 2022 BMW X5, driven by Sael M. Fernandez, had three passengers, including a minor. All were taken to White Plains Hospital by Harrison EMS.

A 2023 Toyota RAV4, driven by Sirajul Islam, had four passengers, including three minors. All were taken to Westchester Medical Center.

The 15-year-old male driver was charged with:

• 15 counts of Assault in the Third Degree
• 3 counts of Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree
• Reckless Driving
• Unlawful Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle
• Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree

Parents of all juveniles were notified and responded to the hospitals.

State police say that all 16 people involved in the crash were evaluated and later released from the hospitals.