Police: Teen hurt in crash in stolen car

PLAIN DEALER

A teenager was badly injured Saturday morning in a crash involving one of six cars stolen from a Honda dealership in Mentor, police reported.

The youth, whose name was not released, fled from a traffic stop on Interstate 90 in Bratenahl and, after exiting the highway at East 152nd Street, struck a building and utility pole in Cleveland, police said.

Rescue workers said the youth was hanging out of the car window with serious injuries when paramedics arrived. He was taken to Huron Hospital in East Cleveland.

Bratenahl Patrolman Ted Szalay said he clocked the car at 92 mph on I-90 at 10:18 a.m. and attempted a traffic stop. He said the driver slowed, then sped off.

Szalay said that before he could give chase, the teen had exited the interstate.

Dominion East Ohio Gas was called to the crash scene on South Waterloo Road to shut off a natural-gas line that had ruptured, police said.

Police said the Honda was one of the cars stolen from Honda of Mentor sometime Friday night, when thieves also damaged 16 other vehicles by smashing windows and trying to pry open the ignition casings.

Stolen were four 2008 Honda Accords, a 2005 Honda Accord and a Honda Civic. Mentor police Sgt. Michael Kloski said Cleveland’s auto-theft unit reported recovering several of the new cars.