JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The driver who died when an out-of-control stolen car crashed into a home in St. Nicholas on Saturday afternoon has been identified as 14-year-old Patrick Holmes.
Police said the middle school student lost control of the car as he turned from San Diego Road onto Redmond Avenue, struck a tree and slid under the house.
It took firefighters several hours to get the car out from under the house and remove Holmes because they were concerned that the foundation of the home was compromised.
No one inside the house was injured in the crash. The man who rents the house told Channel 4 on Sunday that he was moving out.
Police believe up to three other people were in the car when it slammed into the house, but fled from the scene. Detectives are investigating whether Holmes and the passengers were involved in a nearby robbery.
"The direction they were headed from, they were leaving an area where a robbery occurred, so we're trying to investigate whether they were involved with it," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Lt. Brett Sharp said.
Two days after the crash, Holmes' family was still dealing with the reality that the eighth-grader who attended Landon Middle School is gone.
"Lots of lots of pain. It's a lot of pain. It hurts so bad because he's only 14. At 14 years old, you're still playing kickball and hopscotch and stuff like that. Now, he's in the morgue," said Holmes' cousin, Melissa Henderson. "He was just a sweet young man. It's just a tragedy that this happened to him in this kind of way, and right now we don't understand."
Police announced on Monday afternoon that they have arrested a 16-year-old boy suspected in the robbery that took place shortly before the fatal crash. They said they believe three others might have been involved in the robbery and urging any witnesses to come forward.
"If someone witnessed this incident, we're asking them to give us a call. You've got to become involved if things like this are happening around you," said JSO spokesman Ken Jefferson.
Patrick's family is asking for the same thing, saying they hope someone can give them the answers they need.
"We want closure we want to know what happened in that car because it will help his mom at peace and it will help the case," Henderson said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crimestoppers at 866-845-TIPS.
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