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‘They all ran’: Teens crash into backyard during police chase in Lowell

LOWELL, N.C. — Five teenagers were arrested after a police chase that ended with a crash into a Lowell homeowner’s backyard.

Channel 9′s Almiya White spoke with the homeowner Wednesday and could still see tire tracks on the ground leading to a tree.

Lisa Lail said she saw what happened firsthand.

“I was in there on my phone in my bedroom -- boom!” Lail told White “And that’s when it all unfolded right there.”

Lail says just before 8 p.m. Tuesday, she walked outside to flashing blue lights and a car smashed into a tree, just feet away from her home. She said the people inside of the car ditched it and made a getaway through her yard.

“They all ran and through the backyard, so I’m scared; I don’t know if they have a gun or what,” Lail told White.

The Lowell Police Department told Channel 9 that the crash was the result of a chase involving the five teenagers. North Carolina Highway Patrol tells us it started on Interstate 85, where a trooper tried to stop the car for speeding.

When the car came to a stop at Lail’s house, she says two boys jumped over her fence, ran across her backyard, and hid near a pool.

“I saw them take the three girls that were out here in the bushes, and lay them on the ground and put handcuffs on,” Lail said.

Lowell’s police chief told White that all five teens are OK and were taken into custody. They weren’t identified due to their age, and police haven’t said what charges they could be facing.

Lail said she’s disappointed to know that young teenagers were involved.

“Just be a kid while you can go to the mall, you know, go somewhere, but don’t do crime,” Lail said.

(WATCH: 3 teens die after chase ends in crash in Shelby, officials say)

Almiya White

Almiya White, wsoctv.com

Almiya White is a reporter for WSOC-TV