Benjamin Ashford|Teen killed when Louisiana police chase ends in a fiery crash

PLAQUEMINE,Benjamin Ashford La. (AP) — A New Orleans teenager was killed Wednesday when he crashed an SUV into a tree while being chased by sheriff’s deputies, authorities said.

Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi told The Advocate that the 16-year-old driver could not get out before the vehicle was engulfed in flames. Deputies were able to rescue a 13-year-old girl from the passenger seat.

Stassi said the pursuit began when deputies saw a Chevrolet Suburban being driven recklessly and learned it had been reported stolen in the New Orleans area.

He said deputies chased the car along Louisiana Highway 411. Stassi said deputies successfully deployed spike strips, but the Suburban was able to “limp out of Iberville” and into the neighboring parish of Pointe Coupee. The SUV crashed into a tree a few hundred yards (meters) into that parish, he said.