Police chase ends when 13-year-old SC driver takes stolen car off-road
Richland County sheriff’s deputies detained a 13-year-old who led them on a chase in a stolen car.
At 8 p.m. Wednesday, deputies tried to pull over a suspected stolen vehicle on Broad River Road near the intersection with Interstate 20, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
The driver fled from the attempted traffic stop, leading the officers on a chase until the fleeing car went off the road into a wooded area behind Forest Heights Elementary School on Blue Ridge Terrace, six miles away.
Once off-road, the teenaged driver attempted to exit the vehicle and flee on foot, but was prevented because the car had become wedged between two trees, deputies say. The 13-year-old and a 17-year-old passenger were taken into custody at the scene.
The older teenager was later released to a family member, but the younger driver was taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice and petitioned for failure to stop for blue lights and possession of a stolen vehicle.
“This is not the precedent we are setting for summer,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said in a statement after the car chase. “Parents, know where your children are and have a plan for them this summer. If you don’t know where to start, you can start by calling our Youth Services Division.”
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