MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — Four juveniles who escaped from the Rosewood Youth Academy in Nashville nearly crashed into a home in Wilson County, according to police.
The crash was caught on security video.
Authorities say it’s a miracle no one was hurt or killed. Now the Wilson County sheriff wants answers.
NewsChannel 5 has learned four juveniles escaped Saturday night from the Rosewood Youth Academy in Nashville, stole a car and then led a chase on Interstate 40 that ended in a wreck 10 miles later on Beckwith Road in Mt. Juliet.
"One of the workers decided he was going to chase them in a vehicle and they ended up here in Wilson County," said Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan.
In the surveillance video, the car is seen hitting a tight corner known in the neighborhood as Devil’s Curve. It then flips and crashes, stopping just inches from a home.
The car rolled right onto Ede McCullough's front lawn.
"It was about six inches from the house, and when I looked up, all I saw was the blinking," said McCullough.
Then the four teens get out and run as you hear someone yell "Don’t run… stop" and then a gunshot is fired.
"It is absolutely terrifying," said McCullough.
She, her husband and children all took cover.
"You don't go onto someone's private property and shoot your gun," she said.
The sheriff agrees.
"Somebody shot a weapon. That's something we are going to get to the bottom of."
It’s not clear where that round ended up.
No one shot and amazingly no one was hurt in the crash.
Sheriff Bryan said he’s still gathering details of what happened. But he does not believe law enforcement was involved in the chase. His deputies just responded to the crash and then caught the four teens.
So, who chased and who fired the gunshot?
The sheriff says he’ll be talking with the staff at the Youth Academy first thing Monday morning.
He wants to know why the escape was not reported until hours after the crash. He questions a staffer chasing the unarmed teens with his own car and firing a gun. And he's concerned about hearing the staffer on the security video using a racial slur after firing the gunshot.
"I have seen the video and there were some disturbing comments on it," Bryan said.
Detectives have interviewed the man who gave chase and will be taking the case to the District Attorney for potential reckless endangerment charges.
The teens too will face prosecution, and the sheriff said Rosewood has some explaining to do.
This is the second time this year juveniles escaped from Rosewood Youth Academy. In January, three teens escaped and were caught a few days later.
