Crime & Safety

Teen Driver Still Critical After Collision

The 15-year-old driver's injuries remain life-threatening, according to police.

The 15-year-old driver of the car that crashed into a tree on Island Drive Friday remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, Sgt. Ron Simmons of the Alameda Police Department's traffic unit said this morning.

There has been little change in the boy's condition, he said.

Several of the five passengers in the car have been released from the hospital, he said.

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Simmons said the tree was "right at the driver's door on impact" when the crash occurred. The driver and the one passenger in the front seat were wearing seat belts, but the four teens in the back seat were not, he said.

He said Alameda Fire Department personnel had to cut the vehicle's A-pillar below the windshield and peel back the vehicle's roof to extract the driver after the crash. Emergency personnel were able to reach the passengers without extracting them, he said.

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Simmons said the  investigation of the accident by the APD's major accident investigation team (MAIT) could be lengthy. Investigators are waiting for technical information — a correct friction value for the asphalt road surface — before they can accurately determine the speed at which the vehicle was traveling when it crashed, he said.

The investigation will include a thorough vehicle inspection and the execution of search warrants, among other things, Simmons said.

"People should not expect a quick resolution," he said.

Simmons added that it's too early to know if criminal charges will be filed in connection with the accident.

The accident took place about 1:30 a.m. on July 6 in the 800 block of Island Drive, opposite the Chuck Corica Golf complex.

The driver was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland after the crash. The five passengers (four girls, one boy, all age 15 except for one 13-year-old sibling) sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to Highland, Kaiser Oakland and Eden Medical Center.

All six teens are Alameda residents, police have confirmed.

The teens had taken a parent's vehicle without permission, police said after the collision.

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