Police bodycam footage captures the tragic moment a 16-year-old girl is burnt to death after a horrific car crash in Los Angeles last month. Destiny Villanueva, 16, died in a car when the 14-year-old driver, crashed while speeding away from police trying a traffic stop for having no headlights just after midnight on February 20.
In the recently released bodycam footage, an officer tells another over the radio, "It's rainy conditions, we're not going to go in pursuit." Soon after, surveillance footage from across the street captures the moment the Toyota Camry collides with a traffic pole at high speed at the intersection of Balboa and Ventura Boulevard, then ignites.
Chilling Moment
The brave officers can be seen rushing to the rescue of the teenagers, with one asking, "Can you get out?"
"No," responds the driver, indicating that the doors won't open. Another voice is heard saying, "I can't get out, my leg's hurting."
The officers are then seen breaking the windows of the mangled car and using a pocket knife to pierce the airbag. "You have to get out of the car, get out," the officers then shout as the flames get worse.
"Get the driver out," one officer tells another cop, before asking the passenger, "Is there anyone else in the car?"
"No," she responds while lying on the sidewalk.
After pulling out the driver and the eighteen-year-old passenger from the car, officers pull the girls to safety down the street from the burning wreckage. Officers then can be seen trying to confirm with the teenagers that they were the only two individuals in the vehicle.
Tragic Death
The girl who initially said that only two people were in the car changes her story, saying, "No, three." The police bodycam footage captures the officers rushing back to the vehicle to save the third passenger in the back seat, later identified as Villanueva.
Unfortunately, the vehicle had already been engulfed by flames, and only child Villanueva was pronounced dead at the scene.
Firefighters responding to the scene found Villanueva's body in the backseat, wedged under the driver's seat.
A family friend, in a GoFundMe fundraiser created for her mother, described Villanueva as a "precious daughter whose light was extinguished far too soon."
The driver and the surviving passenger managed to escape with minor injuries, as confirmed by the police. Authorities also said that the driver "did not display any sign of impairment" after the collision.
Authorities have confirmed that all three people in the car were friends and lived near each other. The incident is currently under investigation, and it remains unclear if the driver will face criminal charges for the crash.
Law enforcement has not reveal whether the car was stolen or if it belonged to the underage driver's family.
