Two other young boys, ages 12 and 13, were injured in that crash. All of the boys were students at Queens Intermediate School in Pasadena -- one in sixth grade and the other two in seventh grade.
Eziquiel Serna, 14, was ejected from the truck and did not survive the crash. Investigators say he was behind the wheel of a stolen Comcast truck when he was clocked going 72mph in a 60mph zone on FM 521. A trooper pulled the truck over, but when he got out of his patrol unit investigators say Serna took off.
The teen led the trooper on a chase that lasted 10 minutes, until Serna lost control on a dirt road, flipping the truck several times.
"The truck was traveling down this dirt road, lost control and flipped multiple times," said Trooper John Sampa with the Texas Department of Public Safety. "The crash ejected the driver and the other two passengers were not ejected."
His two friends and passengers, ages 12 and 13, survived. They were treated and released from the hospital, but their friends did not want to comment.
Classmates of the boys at Queens Intermediate School learned about tragedy on Tuesday.
"He was my best friend," one of Serna's friends, Cesar, said.
Some say they tried to steer away from this kind of trouble.
"I always thought he could change or something," Cesar said.
According to investigators, the surviving passengers admitted to tossing marijuana and hash out of the window of the moving truck. Drug and theft charges against them are pending.
Police say they hope this story sends a message about how actions can lead to such a bad ending. It certainly left parents of young teens thinking about who their children are hanging around.
"He's real good with my son, like if somebody picks on my son or something, he's always like oh don't worry about it I'll take care of your son and make sure nobody picks on him, but other than that, I always see him on the streets here," one neighbor said.
Counselors are on hand at Queens Intermediate to help students cope with the death of Serna.
