BOONE COUNTY — Two people are dead and four people are injured after a crash Friday morning on State Road 32 in Boone County following a police chase that started in Lawrence.
The crash happened around 5:30 a.m. on State Road 32 near County Road 650 East.
The driver, identified as Nazire Parks, 14, and the front passenger, Kamyla Young, 13, died at the scene.
Four other people- two 12-year-olds, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old, were injured and taken to area hospitals, Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsen said. Their conditions aren't clear.
Nielsen said the chase was terminated somewhere on Interstate 65. The sheriff's office hasn't been able to confirm what led Lawrence Police Department officers to initiate the chase. No Boone County deputies were involved in the chase.
The Boone County Sheriff's Office said Friday afternoon that Lawrence Police were in a pursuit with a Kia Soul for about 15 minutes at approximately 4 a.m. Friday.
At 4:23 a.m., the Boone County Communications Center received a call about a vehicle accident. A deputy found Lawrence Police Officers attempting to render aid to the six juveniles in the Kia, which had hit a tree head-on.
LPD Deputy Chief Gary Woodruff said Lawrence officers weren't in an "active pursuit" when the crash occurred.
Lawrence police are working with the sheriff's office to provide any needed information or evidence for its investigation, Nielsen said.
"I've done this job for 38 years and it's never easy," Nielsen said. "It's always hard and those folks, those first responders that had to respond to this today, have to live with that for the rest of their life. They'll never be able to unsee what they saw."
This was the second fatal crash Boone County deputies responded to early Friday morning.
Around 2:45 a.m., Christopher Harris, 23, of Crawfordsville, was killed in a single-car crash near County Roads 300s and 1200 West, according to a press release from the sheriff's office. Deputies believe, for an unknown reason, Harris left the road, struck a tree and was killed.
"It's been a very busy night here in Boone County and my heart goes out to the family, parents, the brothers and the sisters that are related to these young juveniles," Nielsen said. "It's really sad and it's really heartbreaking for me as the sheriff to see this today."
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
