The crash happened just before 4 a.m. on the Hardy Feeder Road at Beltway 8.
Officers had responded to reports of several people who were attempting to steal cars from a dealership on Eastex Freeway near Will Clayton Parkway in Humble when they spotted a stolen Dodge Challenger headed south.
Officers lost the vehicle after a chase that reached speeds of up to 120 mph, according to police.
They later found the car had crashed and caught fire on the Hardy Feeder Road. The officers pulled the driver from the vehicle, but he later died at a hospital.
Investigators said the car was traveling at a high rate of speed when the driver attempted to turn onto the southbound lanes of the Hardy Toll Road from the Beltway, lost control and struck a utility pole.
The theft attempt at the dealership involved multiple suspects, police said. None had been caught Friday morning, and police said no other cars were believed to have been taken. The suspects somehow managed to get possession of a lockbox filled with keys and were trying to steal several cars on the lot when they were discovered, police said.
The 18-year-old's identity wasn't released.