FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — A 16-year-old boy from Jacksonville was arrested Sunday, accused of leading deputies on a high-speed chase across multiple counties while five other kids in the car asked him to stop.
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Just after 3:30 a.m Sunday, The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office was notified by deputies in neighboring St. Johns County about a white Hyundai that was stolen in Jacksonville and headed towards Flagler County on US Highway 1 at more than 100 miles-per-hour.
Flagler deputies eventually spotted the suspect vehicle traveling with no headlights on before they briefly lost sight of it.
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According to the sheriff’s office, they found the car again wrecked on its side near the intersection of US-1 and Wellfield Grade with no occupants.
Deputies say they found three juveniles who had been in the car hiding in the woods nearby. They admitted they were with three other kids who also ran from the stolen car.
Deputies used a drone camera outfitted with infrared technology to find two of the outstanding juveniles in the woods. The remaining juvenile was found nearly three miles away near Matanzas Woods Parkway and US-1.
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Deputies interviewed one of the first three minors they took into custody, who claimed the driver was holding them at gunpoint as he fled through multiple counties. They said they asked the 16-year-old driver to stop and let them out during the chase but he refused.
The driver was taken to AdventHealth in Palm Coast to be treated for his injuries from the crash and later taken to the Flagler County jail to be processed.
He faces a long list of charges including grand theft of a motor vehicle, five counts of child abuse, reckless driving with property damage, and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage. He was also given several traffic citations before being released to a parent by the Department of Juvenile Justice.
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“These juveniles took their stolen car joyride too far and the juvenile driver is now facing several felony charges,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staley said in a statement. “Fortunately, the other kids were not injured, and they did not injure anyone else as this could have been a deadly joyride.”
The other five kids in the car were also released to their parents with no charges.
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