TRAFFIC

Mom of teen hurt in Gilbert crash: 'He's never going to be the same'

The Republic | azcentral.com

A red vehicle was severely damaged after it rolled with 5 teenagers inside in Gilbert on May 19, 2018. Three were critically hurt, officials said.

The mother of a teen who was among a group injured when a car rolled early Saturday in Gilbert said her son is in a medically induced coma with a brain injury.

Brittney Montoya said her 17-year-old son Ryan Montoya and the four other teens weren't looking for trouble when the car they were in rolled, ejecting two of the five teens in the vehicle, according to officials.

Montoya said that the five teens liked to stay up at night and had gone out to a coffee shop when one of the teens wanted to show off modifications he made to his car.

She said the teens weren't looking for trouble, but had gone around town looking for places to do tricks such as doughnuts and speed down streets in the car.

"They were just bored, wanted to hang out, shouldn't have been up that late and just decided to hang out," she said.

The boy suffered brain damage, a lung puncture and was in a medically induced coma, Montoya said, adding the results of an MRI scan were "terrible."

"He's never going to be the same," she said.

Montoya said Ryan was working toward his GED certificate and she's grateful for her friend's actions. She said she's not in financial situation to be able to handle much.

"I know this is going to be a big expense ... and by the way things are looking I'm not sure what his outcome is going to be," she said.

A plea for fiscal aid

A GoFundMe has been set up to assist the family.

Julia Van Linda said she is a close friend with Ryan's mother and wanted to help. She said Montoya is a single mother and hopes that people donate and think of it as "good karma." Her description of the accident says Ryan was one of the teens ejected.

"I want people to be like 'if this happened to my kid, I would want someone to help me.' It's important that we recognize that single mothers can't always do it," she said.

The campaign had raised $300 of its $2,000 goal as of 6:30 p.m., Monday.

Gilbert police responded to a call around 4:43 a.m., Saturday referencing teenagers driving near a splash pad, basketball court and a park near Higley and Queen Creek roads, Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said.

When Gilbert police tried to stop them, the car took off. Police did not pursue the car but alerted neighboring law enforcement agencies.

About 10 minutes later, the Sheriff’s Office received a call that a vehicle, described as a red sedan, had rolled over several times, ejecting several passengers, after clipping another vehicle at the intersection of Power Road and the Loop 202-Santan Freeway.

Enriquez said three of the teens were hospitalized in critical condition, and two were less seriously injured. Officials initially said all five were ejected, but updated the information late Monday confirming two were.

The Sheriff's Office, which is investigating, has not released any identities of the other teens involved or updates on their conditions.

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