Baltimore officials frustrated with juvenile justice system after teens crash stolen car into MTA bus
Juvenile justice reform is top of mind for Baltimore officials after a stolen car driven by teens crashed into an MTA bus Thursday in East Baltimore.
Sixteen people were taken to the hospital, including four teens in the stolen Hyundai Elantra and 12 people from the bus. The crash brought traffic to a standstill on N. Wolfe Street and E. Oliver Street in the city's Broadway East neighborhood.
Two of the teens from the car remain in critical condition Friday, while everyone on the bus suffered non-life-threatening injuries. There were 16 people on board the bus ranging in age from 2 to 78 years old.
"That did not have to happen"
Mayor Brandon Scott is calling for an overhaul of the juvenile justice system, saying these types of incidents are avoidable.
"That did not have to happen if our system was functioning in a much better way," Scott said. "These young people involved …many of them… this is not the first time that we've seen involvement with them with the police department."
On Thursday, Police Commissioner Richard Worley expressed his frustration with the juvenile justice system, as well.
"I'm always concerned when everything involves juveniles, but we keep locking them up, and they keep ending up getting out," Worley said.
Shelley Lightner has lived on N. Wolfe, just feet away from where the crash happened, and said she doesn't trust young people now. She also said the city needs to improve the intersection, because there have been several crashes.
"Very dangerous. You see that fence tore down over there? A car ran through that," Lightner said.
This crash came just days after the family of Jordan Bright expressed their concerns about the juvenile system. At just 3 years old, Bright was hit by a car and killed in June in Southwest Baltimore. The teen who hit her was prosecuted in the juvenile system and the sentence was not released because of the teen's age.
"That is the part of this system that we cannot accept. The juvenile system can believe in rehabilitation and still believe in accountability," Nyjada Billy, Jordan's mother, said earlier this week.
Crash sent 16 people to hospital
The crash happened around 12:45 p.m. Thursday, according to investigators.
Photos from the scene, which is in a school zone near Collington Square Park, showed the MTA Gold Route bus off the roadway in a grassy area and a red Hyundai Elantra with extensive damage.
According to the dispatch call, police started following the stolen car by the intersection of North Avenue and N. Gay Street before the teens fled. The chase then spanned the Broadway East neighborhood.
The car sped eastbound on E. Oliver Street before colliding with the bus, which was traveling south on N. Wolfe Street -- spinning the car nearly 360 degrees and sending the bus into nearby trees.
Investigators are now working to review video from the scene, including from the officers and on board the bus.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact investigators at 410-396-2606, or call the anonymous Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
