A Douglas teenager escaped serious injury last week following a three vehicle accident on Ninth Street.

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According to Sgt. Jose Duarte of the Douglas Police Department at approximately 4:37 p.m. Feb. 26, a Douglas Police officer came across a vehicle in the middle of the roadway in the 2400 block of Ninth Street.

Duarte said at first the officer believed this was a disabled vehicle and when he stopped to provide assistance he found out that it was actually a motor vehicle accident.

Investigation revealed a blue in color 2003 Honda Element was traveling east on Ninth Street, when the driver of the vehicle, a 16 year old DHS student who is not being identified, became distracted by something inside of the vehicle and veered right striking a 2002 GMC Sonoma truck that had been properly parked along the side of the curb.

Sgt. Duarte said after striking the parked vehicle, the Honda began to spin. During the spin, the Honda element struck a second parked vehicle, which was a 1993 Chevy truck. The collisions caused the Honda Element to spin and roll over once, landing right side up.

Sgt. Duarte said the driver was able to remove herself from her vehicle and that was when the officer arrived.

“She was treated for minor injuries by Douglas Fire Department Personnel and transported to the hospital,” Sgt. Duarte said. “The driver was subsequently cited for failure to control to avoid an accident at the scene and she may be cited for not wearing her seatbelt after the completion of the investigation.”

Sgt. Duarte said officers believed that the young driver was lucky to have only received minor injuries during this accident, being that she could have been ejected during the roll over.

“(The) Douglas Police Department would like to remind everyone to always wear your seatbelts, even if it’s a short trip, because most accidents do happen close to home,” he said. “Pay attention to your surroundings and if you are distracted by something within your vehicle, pull off to the right side of the roadway, park and when safe, deal with the distractions. (The) Douglas PD wants everyone to be safe when driving.”