14-year-old girl led 114-mph chase in minivan with other kids, California cops say
A 14-year-old girl led Northern California police on a wild car chase that reached speeds of 114 mph over the weekend — and children as young as 11 were riding with her, authorities said.
The teenage driver was first spotted around 11 p.m. on Saturday, driving a blue Dodge Caravan with headlights off through the parking lots of closed businesses near the Mt. Shasta Mall in Redding, local police said in a news release Sunday.
An officer who “suspected the occupants were engaged in criminal activity” checked the van’s license plate and discovered it had been reported stolen to police in Red Bluff, authorities said.
The officer tried to stop the van, but the driver sped off and drove onto Interstate 5, police said.
From there, California Highway Patrol officers and other backup authorities chased the vehicle as the driver entered and exited the interstate, traveled on State Route 273 and navigated city roads, police said.
The driver — who ran stop signs, ignored stop lights and drove in the wrong lanes — reached speeds of 114 on the interstate and 75 on city streets, according to police.
But eventually the van’s left front side was damaged and its flat front tire fell off, disabling the van. That’s when the people inside finally surrendered and were taken into custody, according to police.
Police described the “multiple” juveniles inside the van as between the ages of 11 and 15, including two runaways — one from Shasta County and the other from Red Bluff. Police did not say how many people were in the van.
The girl driving the van was booked at Shasta County Juvenile Hall on charges including vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, evasion and reckless driving, police said.
The others in the van “were released to their parents and no charges are being filed on them,” police said.
The 18-minute chase covered 21.5 miles, police said, and it spanned two counties, Tehama and Shasta, KRCR reported.
“During this time there was very little vehicle traffic and no pedestrians in the area,” police said.
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 10:28 PM with the headline "14-year-old girl led 114-mph chase in minivan with other kids, California cops say."
