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“We’re caring for his well-being. This is certainly a traumatic crash, and he is not on a punitive leave,” the police chief says.
An Abington police officer was placed on administrative leave after pursuing a reported stolen SUV that crashed Wednesday morning, killing the 17-year-old driver and hospitalizing four teenage passengers, authorities said.
The crash happened shortly before 8 a.m. after an Abington police officer identified a stolen 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe and attempted a traffic stop. The SUV veered off the roadway and struck a tree at 877 Washington St., Police Chief John Bonney said during a news conference.
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Teen driver killed, 4 others hospitalized in stolen SUV crash in Abington
The Plymouth County District Attorney’s office identified the driver, who died at the scene, as 17-year-old Sebastian Hamilton. Bonney said he spoke with Hamilton’s mother following the crash.
Four passengers, aged 14 to 17, were also inside the SUV. One teenage girl suffered serious injuries after being ejected from the car, while three other passengers — two boys and one girl — sustained life-threatening injuries, Bonney said.
All were taken to hospitals, where they remained Thursday, the district attorney’s office said.
The officer, whose name was not released, was placed on administrative leave and is “being cared for” after the crash, Bonney said.
“We’re caring for his well-being,” he added. “This is certainly a traumatic crash, and he is not on a punitive leave.”
Bonney explained, in a phone interview with Boston.com, that placing an officer on administrative leave after a pursuit that ends in a fatal crash is more of a standard procedure for the investigation, emphasizing the leave was not based on a “punitive issue.”
The Hyundai had been reported stolen in Brockton around 3:25 a.m. Tuesday, Bonney said. He said he did not know what prompted the officer to run the vehicle’s license plate but noted that officers “don’t need suspicion to run a plate.”
Bonney said that, after learning the SUV was reported stolen, the officer tried to initiate a stop on Walnut Street, where the vehicle was moving “at a high rate of speed,” though the exact speed remains undetermined. The car then continued down Centre Avenue and Washington Street, striking a tree shortly after passing Central Street.
Authorities have not said where the teenagers were headed or how they came into possession of the SUV.
“I don’t even know if he stole it,” Bonney said of Hamilton. “He was just driving a stolen motor vehicle, and that’s why the pursuit initiated.”
The crash remains under investigation, police said.
Bonney said the officer has been with the department for less than two years and described him as “kind” and a “caring human being.”
“On a human level, this is difficult, and he is just so proud to wear our uniform,” Bonney said. “And frankly, I’m so proud to be his colleague.”
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