SANGER, Texas — Three teenage passengers died in a car crash in Sanger, Sunday morning, after the 14-year-old driver of the truck they were in lost control and ran off the road while fleeing from police officers during a pursuit, Sanger police said.
The crash happened around 5:30 Sunday in the 700 block of South Fifth Street. Kevin Angeles, 14; Steven Candelario, 15; and Brian Hutson, 16; died in the crash, police said. The 14-year-old driver and another 18-year-old passenger survived.
Officers arrested one of the surviving teenagers, who they said hid in a nearby backyard for three hours after the crash.
People who live near the crash scene hope, if nothing else, this teaches teens to make better decisions.
Mark Frosburg is one of the homeowners who got an up-close look at the crash, which happened right in front of his house. It was his backyard that one of the passengers hid in.
He said he and his neighbors have looked out for each other for years.
"I have two sons of my own," Frosburg said.
Frosburg said nothing is sadder, as a parent, than Sunday's deadly crash. He said he came outside and got a sight that told him right away that the crash near his home involved fatalities.
"I didn't hear it," he said. "I woke up and there it was."
Just like Frosburg, neighbor Mark Eggert said he wishes the teenagers had made better decisions.
"There is nothing we can do about what happened, but other kids should learn from this mistake, maybe listen to their parents," Eggert said.
"It's a very thin line to walk nowadays, and you've got choices," Frosburg said in agreement.
Eggert believes in people, including some young people, having the right to make choices. But he warns, in many cases, you don't get to choose the consequences of your choices.
Eggert grew up in Sanger and talked about neighbors being part of his extended family because they would not hesitate to tell his parents if he did something wrong.
He believes many young people can learn from how the pursuit ended, especially since it resulted in what they called the needless loss of life for teenagers who had their entire futures ahead of them.
"Learn from your mistakes and realize there is nothing you can do to change the past," Eggert said. "But what you can do, is change the future."
Eggert also shared that they had trouble in the neighborhood with teenagers being mischievous in the past. He said he can only hope with three teens now dead, and two others forced to live with the tragedy, it's a wake-up call for all young people.