5 teens critically injured in Englewood stolen car crash, Chicago police say

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A stolen car crashed into a fire hydrant in the Englewood neighborhood Tuesday morning, sending five teenagers to the hospital, Chicago police said.

Neighbors in Englewood were woken early Tuesday morning by sirens only to see a Chevy sedan with five teenagers inside had hit a fire hydrant at a high rate of speed.

"Shouldn't even be out," nearby resident Michael Hamilton said. "Shouldn't even be out. They're supposed to be in bed, asleep."

Two girls and two boys, ages 13 and 14 years old, are now in stable condition at Comer and Stroger hospitals while one 14-year-old file remains in critical condition.

"Just when you think it's getting a little better, no gunshots or nothing like that, but then all of a sudden, something happens," Hamilton said. "I hope the kids are all right."

The crash occurred at about 3:15 a.m. in the 6900-block of South Lowe Avenue. Police said the car they were in was stolen and a weapon was recovered from the scene.

Neighbors are calling for more support in their community.

"Something for the kids to do to prevent tragedies like this," Richard said.

Eddie Lee used to live in the area, and happened to be visiting from out of town. Lee shared that he did time for making poor choices in his youth.

"I'm praying for the young lady and the rest of them, and hope nothing bad comes from this, no worse than that's already occurred," Lee said.

The owner of the car said it was stolen on Monday night around 8 p.m. from a rec center in West Pullman on 119th Street.

The Major Accidents unit is still here investigating. Meanwhile, it's unclear which teen was behind the wheel. It's also unclear if they were being chased or not.

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