An 18-year-old died when the stolen vehicle he was riding in crashed during a police chase Thursday in Bridgeport. The city’s police department said the car was being driven by a 15-year-old.
Captain Brian Fitzgerald of Bridgeport’s police department said it all began when local police responded to an armed robbery in the city’s north end.
“The suspects were gone when our police officers got there,” Fitzgerald said. “But, the victim was able to give a good description of the vehicle that they fled in. About 20 minutes after that, police officers on the east side of the city saw that vehicle and attempted to stop it. Unfortunately, the vehicle did not stop and disregarded police officers’ lights and sirens and their signal to pullover.”
Fitzgerald said Corbin Cooper, 18, died after the driver lost control and the vehicle rolled down an embankment near where Route 8 splits into Route 25. Bridgeport police arrested the three survivors for the armed robbery and the stolen vehicle.
Connecticut State Police are handling the accident investigation.
“We have a significant problem going on throughout the state right now of motor vehicle thefts and it's going on in every community—small and large,” said Connecticut State Police spokesman Sergeant Robert Derry.
Derry said the majority of offenders are juveniles and that’s because juveniles aren’t tried as harshly for the same crime as adults are. The state police remind citizens to hang onto their keys and make sure they lock their vehicles to avoid car thefts.
