HARTFORD -
A 16-year-old was fatally injured Sunday night when an out-of-control Toyota hit him and a friend as they crossed Elliott Street near Wethersfield Avenue, police said.
Anthony Morales died at Hartford Hospital shortly after being struck about 9 p.m. Travis Seabourne, also 16, was seriously injured when the Toyota struck him but is in stable condition at Hartford Hospital, police said.
A 17-year-old was behind the wheel of the Toyota.
Hartford police Officer Michael Heselton was driving west on East Elliott Street when the Toyota, with its lights off, passed him and ran through a red light into the Wethersfield Avenue intersection, Sgt. Christene Mertes said.
The Toyota was then struck by a Chevy SUV driving south on Wethersfield Avenue, Mertes said. The Toyota then spun out of control on Elliott Street and struck the boys.
The driver of the Toyota fled on foot but was later captured at Hartford Hospital, where he sought treatment for injuries he sustained in the crash, Mertes said. The 17-year-old driver, who was identified by witnesses, was charged with second-degree manslaughter, evading an accident with death, reckless driving, driving without a license, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, operating without insurance and misuse of plates, police said.
Morales was a student at Bloomfield High School, where Principal Irene Zytka described him as a nice young man who enjoyed basketball. One of his friends, she said, got a basketball for other students at the school to sign that will be presented to Morales' family.
Counselors were made available and "some students did avail themselves," Zytka said.
"We're doing what we can," she said. "It's really sad. My heart goes out to the family."
Seabourne, an 11th-grade student at Weaver High School in Hartford, is a member of the school's basketball team, school spokesman David Medina said.
— David Owens
Anthony Morales died at Hartford Hospital shortly after being struck about 9 p.m. Travis Seabourne, also 16, was seriously injured when the Toyota struck him but is in stable condition at Hartford Hospital, police said.
A 17-year-old was behind the wheel of the Toyota.
Hartford police Officer Michael Heselton was driving west on East Elliott Street when the Toyota, with its lights off, passed him and ran through a red light into the Wethersfield Avenue intersection, Sgt. Christene Mertes said.
The Toyota was then struck by a Chevy SUV driving south on Wethersfield Avenue, Mertes said. The Toyota then spun out of control on Elliott Street and struck the boys.
The driver of the Toyota fled on foot but was later captured at Hartford Hospital, where he sought treatment for injuries he sustained in the crash, Mertes said. The 17-year-old driver, who was identified by witnesses, was charged with second-degree manslaughter, evading an accident with death, reckless driving, driving without a license, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, operating without insurance and misuse of plates, police said.
Morales was a student at Bloomfield High School, where Principal Irene Zytka described him as a nice young man who enjoyed basketball. One of his friends, she said, got a basketball for other students at the school to sign that will be presented to Morales' family.
Counselors were made available and "some students did avail themselves," Zytka said.
"We're doing what we can," she said. "It's really sad. My heart goes out to the family."
Seabourne, an 11th-grade student at Weaver High School in Hartford, is a member of the school's basketball team, school spokesman David Medina said.
— David Owens
