Girl, 13, killed when underage driver crashes

CHARLOTTE (AP) – A 13-year-old girl was killed while joyriding in a vehicle driven by an underage driver who crashed into a tree, police said.
Ana Ramirez had been in the front passenger seat and her 15-year-old brother was in the back of the Volk*swagen Jetta driven late Wednesday by a 14-year-old boy who had sneaked away in his father’s car, Char*lotte- Mecklenburg police said.
No one in the car was wearing a seat belt, said De*tective Charlie Brown, who is investigating the crash.
Police said the boys suf*fered injuries that didn’t appear life-threatening.
The driver told police the car’s brakes failed. He was going about 35 mph when he struck a mailbox and then a tree in a yard, police said.
Investigators found that the car’s brakes are work*ing, said Brown, who did not release the driver’s name because of his age.
“It shook the house,” said Misty Coughlin, who was home when the car ended up in her front yard. “The car was wrapped around the tree. The two boys were out but the girl was still inside.” Prosecutors will decide whether to file charges af*ter police finish investigat*ing, he said.
Ramirez’s mother came to Coughlin’s yard Thurs*day and placed a pink flow*er against the scarred tree, she said.
“I couldn’t help but hold her,” Coughlin said. “I told her I was sorry and did what I could to get help as soon as possible.
“I just feel really sorry for her.”

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