BOONE COUNTY, Ind. — EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is a previous report from September 2021 when the crash occurred.
The Boone County Sheriff's Office concluded its accident reconstruction investigation from a deadly crash that happened in September 2021.
The driver, 14-year-old Nazire Parks, and front seat passenger, 13-year-old Kamyla Young, died in the Sept. 3 crash.
Also in the car were Destine Grant, 12, Jeremiah Shanks, 16, Jacob Taylor, 15, and Jania Young, 12, but they all survived.
Investigators determined the crash, which was peer-reviewed by the Indiana State Police and reviewed by the Boone County prosecutor, was due to several factors, including high speed, failure to use headlights when required, disregarding a stop sign, a lack of knowledge of the area, and driver impairment from THC.
On Aug. 3, 2021 at 4 a.m., Lawrence officers chased the car full of teenagers and preteens across Marion County. A Lawrence police officer radioed that he was pursuing a black Kia Soul for speeding and an expired license plate.
It is not clear from radio communication from the officers if they were aware there were children in the Kia they were pursuing.
The chase, which began in Lawrence, was allegedly called off on the northwest side of Indianapolis as the Kia left Marion County.
Minutes later, Lawrence officers said they came across SUV and it had crashed into a tree at Boone County Road 650 East and State Road 32, east of Lebanon.
A woman that lives in the home at the crash scene said the tree likely kept the car from crashing into her bedroom.
Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsen released the following statement:
"This is clearly a heartbreaking tragedy for everyone involved. We have been completely transparent to everyone during this investigation. Losing a child is absolutely devastating. The Boone County Sheriff's Office has investigated and presented factual evidence of what occurred the night leading up to the crash, during the crash, and following the crash. It is not the investigators or this office’s responsibility to review policy or protocol from any other agency. Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the parents and to the family of the children involved in this crash as well as to the officers involved in the investigation."
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