A 12-year-old boy has been arrested in New York City after allegedly stealing a Hyundai Santa Fe with a 16-year-old female accomplice, leading police on a chase that only ended after the kid crashed the SUV. Making the incident all the more bizarre is the fact that the 12-year-old had to install a booster seat to drive the car.
Local police say that the two thieves took off with a Santa Fe in Staten Island on Monday evening and proceeded to speed over the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. Authorities were able to track down the boy and girl on Tuesday morning at around 11 a.m. and attempted to pull them over.
However, the young driver hit the gas and fled, hitting a number of vehicles near Houston and Allen Streets around Chinatown. The chase continued through the streets until the 12-year-old crashed the Santa Fe into a Hyundai Kona on the Lower East Side.
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Police have not released the names of the two suspects because of their ages but confirmed they had been charged with criminal possession of stolen property, reckless endangerment, and unauthorized use of a vehicle with the owner’s consent, the New York Post reports.
“The lackadaisical enforcement of and adherence to our laws has now trickled down to our schools, where children now think they can do whatever they want with no consequences,” a law enforcement official told the publication. “[Elected officials] have established a permission structure for kids to commit serious crimes that could potentially lead to the death of others. But God forbid we do car stops anymore. This innocent youth may have to be subject to the criminal justice system,” he quipped.
The 12-year-old boy and the 16-year-old girl will face charges as juveniles in Family Court.
