Thornton police are looking for a juvenile they believe was driving the stolen SUV that crashed on Interstate 25 Sunday afternoon, leaving a 12-year-old passenger seriously injured.
Witnesses originally said there were four juveniles in the 1993 Ford Explorer in addition to the driver, whom they described as a man in his 20s.
The man ran from the scene immediately after the crash, while three of the juveniles — ages 14, 15 and 17 — stayed to help the 12-year-old, they said.
Thornton police spokesman Matt Barnes said a 14-year-old from Thornton came into the station Monday to report he also had been in the vehicle and had run away after the crash.
The witnesses also told police that the driver was actually 14 to 16 years old, Barnes said. They described him as a Latino male with short, cropped hair, a stocky build, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a pronounced scar under his left eye.
The teens said they had just met the driver and didn’t know his name, Barnes said.
The crash occurred when the sport utility vehicle side-swiped the front bumper of a semi and flipped over near Thornton Parkway.
The 12-year-old’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
