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Jahon Bemboom

Age : 16

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 06/28/2021

Location : South 13th St and Dawson Street

City : Wilmington

County : New Hanover

State : North Carolina

Agency : Wilmington Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Killed during police pursuit

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Stolen vehicle. At approximately 7:20 p.m., Wilmington Police Department officers attempted to stop a vehicle that police said had been reported stolen at South 16th and Castle streets. Jahon Bemboom continued driving away and officers pursued. Police later alleged that Bemboom was also suspected in several vehicle break-ins, but the documented reason for the traffic stop and pursuit was the stolen-vehicle report.
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OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY:
On 06/28/2021, 16-year-old Jahon Bemboom was killed when the vehicle he was driving crashed into a flatbed tow truck and then a utility pole during a Wilmington Police Department pursuit at South 13th and Dawson streets. Another teenager riding with Bemboom was injured.
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At approximately 7:20 p.m., Wilmington police attempted to stop the vehicle at South 16th and Castle streets because police said it had been reported stolen. Bemboom continued driving away and police pursued.
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According to Wilmington police, Bemboom drove through a red light at South 13th and Wooster streets. The pursuing officers stopped at that red light and waited for traffic to clear before continuing the pursuit.
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Police said their vehicles were approximately one block behind Bemboom when he reached South 13th and Dawson streets and drove through another red light. His vehicle crashed into the driver's side of a flatbed tow truck, causing the truck to spin around, and the pursued vehicle then crashed at the intersection.
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Wilmington officers reached the wreckage, pulled Bemboom from the vehicle and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Bemboom was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center, where he died from his injuries. His teenage passenger was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, and the tow-truck driver was treated at the scene.
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Police subsequently alleged that Bemboom had been involved in multiple vehicle break-ins and reported recovering a stolen firearm from him after the crash. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol investigated the fatal collision. Wilmington police declined to release additional information concerning the pursuit.
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Jahon's life had already included an extraordinary ordeal long before his death. He was just 11 months old when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005. A widely published photograph showed his mother, Lee Ann Bemboom, carrying a dehydrated and overheated Jahon through the desperate crowds outside the New Orleans Convention Center while searching for medical help. Mother and baby survived Katrina and eventually relocated to Wilmington, North Carolina.
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At 16, Jahon was trying to move forward with his life. Shortly before his death, he had gotten a new job at the Bojangles on Market Street. His mother said he loved the job, was proud of it and was happy that things were beginning to go well for him. His family acknowledged that he had gotten into trouble at times but strongly rejected allowing those mistakes to define his life.
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His mother and Nick Hobbs, her longtime partner who helped raise Jahon, remembered him as kindhearted and willing to help other people. A roadside memorial filled with photographs was established near the crash site on Dawson Street. His family said Jahon had a big heart and loved everybody.
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TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES:
Jahon Bemboom was killed. His teenage passenger suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The tow-truck driver was treated at the scene.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Wilmington Police Department officers who initiated and participated in the pursuit have not been publicly identified in the contemporary reporting located for this case. Wilmington police declined to release additional information about the pursuit following Bemboom's death.
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DISPOSITION:
The involved Wilmington Police Department officer(s) were not criminally charged for their roles in initiating or participating in the pursuit.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://ground.news/article/he-loved-everybody-family-mourns-teen-who-died-in-fatal-crash
https://www.wect.com/2021/07/01/he-loved-everybody-family-mourns-teen-who-died-fatal-crash/
https://www.wect.com/2021/06/29/car-crash-closes-area-12th-street-wilmington/
https://www.chron.com/news/hurricanes/article/We-found-the-survivors-most-readers-wanted-to-1927659.php
https://www.chron.com/life/holidays/article/Evacuees-give-thanks-despite-loss-1916741.php
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/2025/katrina-neworleans-photos/