After initially saying a boy in a crashed car in Silver Spring on Thursday morning appeared to have been shot, Montgomery County police later changed their assessment, saying the serious injury came in the crash.
Police said Thursday afternoon that the boy was in a stolen vehicle. Two other males who were with him — a driver and a passenger — ran away after the crash, police said.
The three males were in a 1999 Subaru Impreza SW that crashed into a 2016 Honda Pilot on Wayne Avenue, in front of Silver Spring International Middle School. The Subaru was reported stolen, police said.
The crash happened around 7:18 a.m.
A boy in the back seat of the Subaru was seriously injured and taken to a hospital, according to a police press release. Police did not give his identity.
Police said earlier Thursday that they thought the boy’s injuries were from a gunshot wound, based on information they received from Montgomery County Fire & Rescue. Police later changed their conclusion following an examination at the hospital.
Sgt. Rebecca Innocenti, a police spokeswoman, said in an interview Thursday afternoon that the two males who fled have not been found.
Asked why police first said the incident was investigated as a possible shooting, she referred all questions to Fire & Rescue.
Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Daniel Ogren said in an interview Thursday afternoon that when first responders initially came to the crash scene, they found what they thought were gunshot wounds.
The injuries, Ogren said, were considered “penetrating trauma,” which occurs when an object tears a hole in the skin. Examples of penetrating trauma include gunshot wounds, stabbings and falling onto a sharp object, according to WebMD.
He said the boy’s wounds were “consistent” with those typically seen on shooting victims.
Ogren said the boy couldn’t speak and had no way of communicating what happened to him.
Ogren said the boy was taken to MedStar Washington Hospital, where doctors “ruled out” a gunshot wound as the cause of the injury.
Four people from the Honda were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the press release said. Ogren said they are being treated at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring.
Police are asking anyone with information about the crash to call 240-774-6370 or Crime Solvers at 866-411-8477 for a possible reward of up to $10,000.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@bethesdda-remix.newspackstaging.com