In the early hours of a Saturday morning, Avondale neighborhood woke up to the tragic aftermath of a police chase that resulted in two teenagers losing their lives. The Phoenix Police Department had attempted to pull over a vehicle for reckless driving near 91st Avenue and Buckeye Road at approximately 1:30 a.m., as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix. The driver, identified as 18-year-old Sergio Lara-Garcia, failed to stop and instead sped off, initiating a pursuit that went onto Interstate 10, with police oversight from a helicopter.
Eventually, the vehicle approached Dysart and Buckeye Roads, where, after crossing over railroad tracks, the driver lost control and the car slammed into Dodge City Market, leading to a fire. Both Lara-Garcia and his passenger, 16-year-old Julian Lugo-Estrada, were extracted from the vehicle by fire crews and taken to a hospital, where they later died, as detailed in AZ Family’s coverage of the incident.
A nearby witness to the crash, shaken by the occurrence, recalled, “I was about to go to sleep, and I heard this big explosion,” an explosive sound that rocked the quiet of the night. This statement was captured by FOX 10 Phoenix. Similarly, Diana Gallardo, another neighbor, told AZ Family, “I just see when he goes boom, hits the building, and I just see all the flames.” The force of the impact and the ensuing blaze were telltale signs of a disaster that could have arguably had wider-reaching consequences had other vehicles been nearby…