Whoever owned the Explorer--the article didn't say--unless it was taken without permission, will be liable for the property damage and initial med pay. If the Explorer is insured, the insurance company will bear that cost less any deductible. As for any med pay or property damage over the basic amount the insurance policy will pay and any lawsuits that result, the parent or parents of the child will likely be liable. All parents involved could be charged with child endangerment. If somebody other than the passengers owned the Explorer and allowed the vehicle to be driven with a 14 year old at the wheel, that person could also bear liability in this issue.
I once worked a claim in which Grandma and Grandpa had gone to town in their pickup leaving their 15 year old granddaughter at home and their Cadillac parked under the carport. While they were gone, their ex-daughter-in-law came by with her 13 year old daughter and 11 year old son and though she knew the grandparents were out, left the two kids at the house. The 13 year old found the keys to the Cadillac and said they should all go for a ride. The 15 year old objected but went with them.
Some blocks away from the house the 13 year old got cold feet and didn't want to continue driving. The 15 year old, who had barely driven, decided to see if she couldn't get the Cadillac out of the middle of the road and back home, but unaccustomed to driving, she stepped on the gas instead of the brake and ran the Cadillac into a house. The 11 year old was injured though not seriously.
So who is liable? In my opinion it was the mother of the 13 year old and 11 year old, but I got overruled by the insurance company. They said the fault was with Grandma and Grandpa for leaving keys where the kids could get to them. The mother who had dropped the kids off at the house received something over $30,000 plus med pay for injury to her child.
It's a screwed up world out there.
