Jacksonville teen crashed stolen car in Palm Coast with 5 other teens inside, deputies say
A 16-year-old boy from Jacksonville was arrested after crashing a stolen car in Palm Coast with five other teens inside early Sunday morning, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
Around 3:34 a.m. Sunday, Flagler County deputies were alerted by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office about the car, a white Hyundai, that had been stolen from Jacksonville and was headed toward Flagler County, according to a news release from FCSO.
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That vehicle was reportedly traveling at speeds of more than 100 mph on U.S. 1 in St. Johns County, FCSO said.
Flagler deputies eventually found the car traveling south on U.S. 1 with no headlights on. They lost sight of the car, but then located it again, crashed and on its side with no one inside near U.S. 1 and Wellfield Grade in Palm Coast.
SEE IT: Body camera footage from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
On body-worn camera video, a deputy could be heard saying they could not confirm the tag, because the back bumper was stuck in a tree.
The deputy could also be heard on the video saying there was “a lot of Twisted Tea in the car.”
Three of the teens who had been in the car were found near the wood line just west of where the car crashed, FCSO said.
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Those juveniles told deputies that there were three others who had been in the car and ran into the woods after the crash.
FCSO used its forward-looking infrared (FLIR) technology on its drone to locate two of the teens in the woods.
The last young person in the car was later found near Matanzas Woods Parkway and U.S. 1, FCSO said.
One of the juveniles initially told deputies “that there was a black male driver who was holding them at gunpoint while fleeing through multiple counties,” the FCSO news release said.
However, deputies later identified a 16-year-old boy from Jacksonville as the driver of the stolen vehicle.
The other juveniles told deputies they had asked the 16-year-old boy to stop the car and let them out while fleeing from law enforcement, however, they said he refused to stop.
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FCSO said the 16-year-old boy was arrested for Grand Theft – Motor Vehicle, 5 counts of Child Abuse Without Great Bodily Harm, Reckless Driving with Damage to Person/Property, and Leaving the Scene of a Crash with Property Damage. He was also issued several Uniform Traffic Citations and later released to a parent by the Department of Juvenile Justice.
“These juveniles took their stolen car joyride too far and the juvenile driver is now facing several felony charges,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in the news release. “Fortunately, the other kids were not injured, and they did not injure anyone else as this could have been a deadly joyride. The real question is, ‘Where were the parents? And, did they know what their kids were doing at 3:30 in the morning?’ Thank you to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office for helping us apprehend this car thief and reckless driver.”
The other five children were released to their parents, FCSO said.
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