Oct 12, 2008 6:30 pm US/Central
Girl, 14, Dies After Leaping From Stolen Van
Boy, 13, Charged
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
A teenage girl died Friday night, a day after jumping out of a moving stolen van as police attempted to approach it. A 13-year-old boy has been charged as the driver of the van, police said.
Shonquie Young, 14, of 6119 S. Paulina St., was pronounced dead at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County at 10:26 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
The incident happened in the 6100 block of South Marshfield Avenue at 4:50 p.m. on Thursday as police attempted to approach a stolen van, according to police News Affairs Officer Daniel O'Brien.
The driver of the van, a 13-year-old boy, accelerated after seeing police while his passenger jumped out of the van, O'Brien said.
The van then crashed into a pole about a half way down the block.
Young died from head injuries due to a fall from a moving vehicle, a Sunday autopsy determined. Her death was ruled accidental.
Young apparently panicked and jumped out of the vehicle, her family said.
They don't know why she was in a stolen van. "That didn't sound like the type of person she was," her aunt Isabella Young said Saturday.
The girl wanted to be a pediatrician, relatives said.
The boy was taken into police custody following the crash. Young was initially taken to Stroger Hospital but succumbed to her injuries Friday night, police said.
The boy was charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle, negligent driving and for driving without ever being issued a license, O'Brien said.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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