A nine-year-old driving a car with three other children inside was involved in a rollover accident that caused the death of two of the passengers.
The accident happened on Friday near Forest, Mississippi, a rural area about 45 miles from Jackson.
Police say the 2003 Mercury Sable was occupied by a 13-year-old female, 13-year-old male, three-year-old male, and the nine-year-old male driver. The children lived in the same house, although their relationship was not immediately known.
The car turned to avoid a mandatory checkpoint, and was pursued by a Mississippi Highway Patrol officer. The driver then veered off the road, causing the car to overturn and hit a utility pole. None of the children were wearing seatbelts, and the driver and the youngest passenger, Brayden Traxler, were ejected.
Highway Patrol Spokesman Sgt. Andy West reported that Traxler and the 13-year-old male, Justin Harrell, died of their injuries. As of Monday, the nine-year-old was in critical condition, and the teenage girl's condition was unknown. The survivors' names have not been released, and police declined to identify who owned the vehicle.
"Any accident that someone loses their life is tragic, but when you're dealing with children it just makes it that much more tragic," Sgt. West said.
Last August, a six-year-old girl was killed after her eight-year-old brother took their mother's car for a drive in Phoenix. The children left the house when their mother went to sleep, and drove the Hyundai Elantra down 19th Avenue. They weaved through traffic and hit a fence before crashing into a pole.
The driver's airbag deployed, and the boy suffered a minor injury to his ankle. The passenger airbag did not deploy, and it is believed the girl was not wearing a seatbelt. She died from her injuries in hospital the next day.
