BEATRICE – Beatrice Police say the five occupants of a vehicle that went off South 19th Street, hitting a power pole Wednesday evening were all under the age of 17. 

Police said the driver, a 16-year-old female, told police she was driving south when the 2014 Chrysler 200 went over the concrete pavement of a recreational trail and then onto the gravel road surface.  The car began fishtailing, and the driver said she tried to brake and straighten out the car when it went off the east side of the street, where it struck the utility pole with the passenger side of the car. 

The driver was accompanied by a 13-year-old female passenger, a 13-year-old male passenger and two 12-year-old male passengers.  Two occupants were taken to Bryan Health West in Lincoln and the three others to Beatrice Community Hospital. Their conditions are not immediately available.

Beatrice Police Sergeant Wes Henning says a Nebraska State Patrol accident reconstruction specialist was summoned to assist in the investigation. 

The car was totaled.   Damage to a City of Beatrice utility pole was estimated at $1,500 and damage to a corn field was placed at about $100. 

The accident, Wednesday at 5:20 p.m., sent multiple Beatrice Fire and Rescue ambulance units to the scene.