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By Anders Anglesey
U.S. News Reporter
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A teenager who fled a car crash on Thanksgiving and left his injured family members behind in the vehicle has been arrested, according to Washington state police.
Kennewick police said officers raced to the site of a crash at E 10th and S Beech Street at about 11:04 p.m. on November 24.
After officers arrived at the scene, they were able to locate Robert Ramirez, 19, nearby and brought him into custody.
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In a Friday, November 25, Facebook post, a Kennewick Police Department (KPD) spokesman wrote: "Upon arrival, it was determined the driver of the shown vehicle had struck a parked vehicle and decided to flee the scene on foot prior to police arrival, leaving his injured family members behind.
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"The injured family members were transported to the hospital for medical treatment. With the assistance of our partners at the Benton County, WA Sheriff's Office, the driver, a 19-year-old male, was later located a short distance away where he was taken into custody."
A KPD spokesperson later told Newsweek the family was treated and then released from the hospital.
Ramirez has since been charged with vehicular assault, hit and run with injury, both felonies, and driving under the influence, a misdemeanor.
Police said Ramirez is currently being held on a $10,000 bond at the Benton County Corrections Department.
According to personal injury legal firm Bernard Law Group, in 2021 there were 82,152 crashes in the Evergreen state.
The legal firm added there were 4,711 traffic accidents where someone had been driving under the influence.
In 2019, there were 15,383 crashes involving teen drivers while in 2018 teenage drivers were in 16,474 traffic collisions.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that teenage males were "at especially high risk for motor vehicle crashes."
"The motor vehicle crash death rate for male drivers ages 16–19 years was three times as high as the death rate for female drivers in the same age group in 2020," the CDC wrote on its website, adding: "Teen drivers have a much higher risk of being involved in a crash than older drivers at the same blood alcohol concentration."
In May 2021, two teenagers lost control of their vehicle and crashed through a homeowner's roof in Eureka, Missouri.
Fire officials said "fortunately" there were no injuries and that the white Chevrolet Malibu hit a couple's home while they were sleeping 10 feet away from where the vehicle crashed.
Scott Barthelmass, Eureka Fire Protection District's spokesman said: "If you look at that crash it's like, how did somebody not die? It's literally incredible. [The car was] literally just saucering through the air end-over-end."
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