TITUSVILLE, Fla. — As we enter the 100 deadliest days for young drivers, a Brevard County teen almost became another statistic over the Memorial Day weekend.
- Teen accused of driving SUV into restaurant while under the influence
- 17-year-old driver was allegedly driving with a suspended license
- Memorial to Labor Day considered "100 deadliest days" for young drivers
On Sunday morning, a Titusville Police officer noticed a car driving with only the fog lights on. After the officer switched on their emergency lights, the SUV sped about 90 mph, according to a police report.
The driver of the SUV lost control, and the vehicle flipped at least once, ending up partially inside La Marimba Mexican restaurant.
According to Titusville Police Chief John Lau, the driver was a 17-year-old with a suspended license. The front seat passenger, who is the owner of the SUV, is a 24-year-old woman with a suspended license, and the back seat passenger is a 24-year-old man.
After the crash, the teen fled the scene, and the two passengers were taken to a hospital with serious injuries. They are expected to survive.
“That night, there were bad choices all over the place, and it’s costing lives,” Lau said.
"100 deadliest days"
According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the 100 days from Memorial Day to Labor Day are the deadliest for teens ages 16 to 20, and fatalities are on the rise.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that teens are 17 times more likely to die in a crash when they've been drinking.
Police say the 17-year-old fled the scene of the crash because she was driving with a suspended license. She tried to run, but a K-9 unit found her.
Documents say she later admitted to drinking beer that night.
"The choices she's making today, hopefully, are not the choices she's making five years from now,” Lau said.
Chris Weitzel, the older brother of the back seat passenger, who is still hospitalized, says he hopes this is a wake-up call for everyone involved.
“(He was) probably just seconds away from dying; he’s lucky. He has a broken rib, collapsed lung, fractured vertebrae. They don't know when is he going to get better,” Weitzel said.
He said that moving forward, he hopes people realize the dangers of drinking and driving and that it’s not worth ending up in jail or killing someone.
Weitzel said that with ride-sharing services being affordable, there's no excuse for people to have been in a vehicle in which a teen suspected of drinking was behind the wheel.
The aftermath
The owner of the vehicle could possibly face charges for child neglect, but that decision is up to the state.
Ana Martinez, the owner of La Marimba, said the electrical repairs are going to be very costly, along with the cosmetic damage the crash caused.
Martinez said that when she showed up in the morning and saw the dismantled car in the front of the business, her heart sank because she thought someone had died.
She wants La Marimba customers to know that the restaurant remains open for business.