A 15-year-old driver with a felony warrant led Hemet police in a wild pursuit before crashing into a tree, killing one of the passengers in the car, officials said Saturday.

The pursuit began at about 7:50 a.m. in the 1700 block of West Florida Avenue when an officer spotted a sedan with three people inside that matched the description of a stolen vehicle, according to the Hemet Police Department.

The officer pulled over the Toyota sedan a few blocks away in the 2000 block of West Acacia Avenue but soon after the officer began giving the occupants instructions, the driver sped off, according to Lt. Eric Dickson.

The driver headed northbound on Gilmore Street then eastbound on Devonshire Avenue before blowing past a stop sign at Lyon Street and nearly colliding with a northbound vehicle, Dickson said.

“The driver of the stolen vehicle swerved to miss the other vehicle and lost control, skidding north and east onto the north sidewalk where the vehicle rolled multiple times and struck a tree before coming to a stop,” Dickson said.

The impact caused one of the passengers to be ejected from the sedan. Police said officers attempted life-saving measures but he died of his injuries.

The driver and front passenger were taken to a hospital with moderate injuries and are both expected to recover, according to Dickson.

Because of his age, police did not name the driver, but said he had a felony no-bail warrant for his arrest.

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