News footage shows the scene after the Virginia crash that killed three teenagers (WTTG).
A Virginia teenager who survived a fatal car crash that claimed the lives of three friends remained hospitalized for two weeks before her family learned what had happened to her.
The Virginia State Police told Washington, D.C.-based NBC affiliate WRC that the unidentified 16-year-old girl, referred to as “Marta,” was eventually reunited with her family. She was the only survivor of the crash, which occurred shortly after midnight on Sept. 28, when police spotted the stolen vehicle on Interstate 395 in Virginia. Three other juveniles—two 16-year-old boys and a 17-year-old boy—were killed after the driver lost control and struck a jersey wall.
Police said Marta’s family spent two weeks unaware of her whereabouts. She remains hospitalized while recovering from injuries that were reportedly life-threatening.
Marta’s sister told the Spanish-language news station Telemundo, according to WRC, that their mother had allowed Marta to leave their Maryland home to spend time with friends the night before the crash. Her sister said Marta did not know the vehicle was stolen when she got inside.
The sister said Marta called her family from the driver’s phone less than an hour before the crash. She remained on the phone as the situation escalated, telling Telemundo: “I remember she told them to take her home already, but they said they were going to go do other things and then they would bring her back here.”
The sister added: “That’s when the officer recognized them and started following them. She says she grabbed onto the seat and kept telling them to stop, that she wanted to get out, because she felt something was wrong, that something was going to happen to her.”
State troopers recognized the vehicle as stolen and attempted to stop it. Police said the driver sped away, then tried to use an exit ramp to escape. Traveling too fast, the driver lost control and crashed. None of the four teenagers was wearing a seat belt, according to police.
The 17-year-old boy died at the crash site, while the two 16-year-old boys died at a hospital. Police said one of the 16-year-olds was driving and did not have a license.
