Crime & Safety

Teens Injured in Street Racing Collision

Del Valle High School students admit to speed contest that ended in crash on Patterson Pass Road.

Here's information provided by the :

Teens were injured in a street-racing collision Tuesday.

At about 2:25 p.m., police received 9-1-1 calls of a traffic collision in the 6400 block of Patterson Pass Road. When emergency personnel arrived on scene, they found a black Ford Mustang and a red Infiniti G35 with major damage to both vehicles.

Find out what's happening in Livermorewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Witnesses reported seeing the two vehicles side by side on eastbound Patterson Pass Road at Vasco Road. The two vehicles appeared to be engaged in a speed contest when one of the vehicles lost control and collided with the other.

The collision caused the red Infiniti to swerve off the roadway, collide with a tree, roll over and come to rest on its wheels against the perimeter fence of the . The driver of the Mustang lost control of the vehicle as it swerved to the left, over the center median and across the opposite lanes of traffic. The Mustang then collided with a fire hydrant, shearing the hydrant off at its base causing a large water leak.

Find out what's happening in Livermorewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The driver of the Infiniti is an 18-year-old Livermore resident and a student at . The driver of the Mustang is a 17-year-old Livermore resident and also a student at Del Valle High School. 

Both drivers admitted their involvement in a speed contest prior to the collision.  The 18-year-old driver and his passenger were later transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The 17-year-old driver and his passenger were uninjured in the collision. Both drivers were determined to be “at fault” drivers in this collision and both will be cited. 

The traffic safety theme for the month of January is “Teen Driver Safety,” and the police department is conducting focused enforcement surrounding the high schools in an effort to help educate our community’s teen drivers on the importance of obeying the rules of the road. .

Sergeant John Hurd stated, “It’s unfortunate that this collision occurred. It’s a reminder to us that our newest drivers, teen drivers, are often involved in collisions in Livermore. Whether it is because of their lack of experience; distractions in the vehicle such as cellphones, texting, the radio or friends; or, the teen’s lack of attention to rules of the road, we see quite a few collisions where the teen driver is at fault. The teens involved in this collision were lucky, their injuries could have been much worse. We are hoping that parents of teen drivers can talk to their teens about reducing distractions while driving, driving within the rules of the road, and not engaging in risky driving behaviors. Together we can reduce the number of collisions involving teenage drivers in our city.”

The Livermore Police Department will continue to focus efforts on both education and enforcement to teen drivers throughout the year. As an example of this enforcement, a 16-year-old driver was stopped for traveling at 46 mph in a 25 mph zone on Wall Street in front of on Jan. 5. This driver was issued a citation for his speed and his father was contacted. The father expressed his appreciation for being advised of his son’s driving behavior.

On Jan. 6, an officer stopped a GHS student for speeding on Wall Street.  The female student claimed to be playing a game (Assassin) with other students, and she was fleeing from them to avoid being “assassinated.”  This student’s parent was also contacted regarding the driver’s behavior.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.