'Sounded Like A Freight Train': Witness Recalls Teen Crashing While Evading Purcell Police

A Purcell resident said it was miraculous that two teen boys survived after wrecking their car in her front yard while trying to evade police.

Purcell Police said around 1:43 a.m. on Friday, an officer tried to pull over the car on Green Avenue because it was speeding. But the car would not stop and reach about 70 miles per hour before the driver lost control, hit several utility poles, and landed on its roof in the front yard of a home on South Canadian Avenue, said Assistant Police Chief James Bolling. "It's heartbreaking to see, you know, young juveniles not understanding the dangers of vehicle and speed," said Bolling.

The front yard where the suspect's car landed belonged to Clara Bacon. She said she was asleep when the sound of the crash woke her. "It sounded like a freight train hitting my vehicles in my yard," Bacon recalled. "I really was afraid the car was going to explode or something the way it was smoking so bad."

Police said they later learned the driver of the wrecked car was a 16-year-old boy. They said the teen suspect got out of the vehicle and ran away from the officer, leaving his 13-year-old brother trapped in the car. "They had to pull on the door quite a bit to get him out," said Bacon.

But police said the 16-year-old suspect did not get far. "We received several phone calls the next hour and a half or so of him trying to knock on doors, trying to get into contact with people," said Bolling. "Eventually, a McClain County deputy came in contact with the subject."

The deputy arrested the teen suspect on Apache Street, several blocks away from the crash site.

Days after the wreck, the trail of destruction caused by the suspect's vehicle was clearly visible. Damage included a broken mailbox, toppled utility poles, downed powerlines, and pieces of the car scattered across multiple yards.

Despite all that, the two boys were not seriously injured. The suspect's younger brother was able to walk to an ambulance at the scene, Bacon said. "Angels were with them, them two boys because a wreck this bad - for both of them to walk away and not be no more hurt than what they were - they are very lucky children," Bacon added.

Police said they later learned the 16-year-old suspect had stolen the car from Grady County. He faced multiple felony complaints, including possession of stolen vehicle, felony eluding, and leaving the scene of an accident-causing injury.

Police said they took the suspect to a juvenile holding facility. Meanwhile, his younger brother was released to his parents.