Personal Injury Law

14-Year-Old Dies in Stolen Car Accident

By Eddie Farah

The driver of an allegedly stolen car that crashed into a house Saturday was just a 14-year-old middle schooler.

It happened across from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in the St. Nicholas area of Jacksonville.

It was chaos at the scene. The car could not be easily backed out because part of the house collapsed. And family of the teen killed rushed across police tape to get to the scene.

Now comes word on the identity of the driver.  Patrick Holmes was driving the car that lost control around a curb from San Diego Road onto Redmond Avenue before striking a tree then sliding under the home.

Witnesses say three people scattered after the crash and may have been inside the car. Police are interviewing those suspects about a possible robbery earlier in the day. 

No one inside the home was injured.  

"Lots of lots of pain. It's a lot of pain. It hurts so bad because he's only 14. At 14 years old, you're still playing kickball and hopscotch and stuff like that. Now, he's in the morgue," said Holmes' cousin, Melissa Henderson tells Channel 4.

"He was just a sweet young man. It's just a tragedy that this happened to him in this kind of way, and right now we don't understand."

The family wants what law enforcement is seeking, someone to come forward to say they witnessed the incident. Call Crimestoppers at 866-845-TIPS.  Closing the case is what will help them with the answers they need the family says.

Our condolences to the family of the teen who might have turned a joy ride into his final ride. # 

Full post as published by Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer on April 12, 2008 (boomark / email).