Underage driver pursuit ends in rollover crash, six teens injured

Six teenagers were seriously injured in a crash after a pursuit in Capitola early Wednesday morning, officials with the California Highway Patrol said.

Officers tried to make a traffic stop on a 2001 GMC Yukon for an alleged license plate violation at about 3 a.m. at 41st Avenue and Gross Road, but the driver didn’t stop, CHP officials said.

The CHP then pursued the 14-year-old boy driving the SUV until he lost control of the vehicle at Portola Drive west of 41st, overturned and crashed into a tree.

The six teenagers in the SUV at the time of the crash were transported to hospitals. A 14-year-old girl who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt was ejected from the vehicle and transported to Natividad Medical Center. The remaining passengers included an 18-year-old woman and three girls, ages 14, 15 and 16.

The CHP said neither drugs nor alcohol played a role in the crash.