Haltom City PD dash cam shows teen's wild joyride in parents' car
HALTOM CITY, Texas - Haltom City PD released dash cam video of an officer chasing down a 15-year-old boy who took his parent’s car for a joy ride.
The chase started early Thursday morning. In the video, the teen is seen swerving on the highway and frontage roads. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
READ MORE: Teen crashes parent's car in Haltom City police chase
The chase lasted for roughly 20 minutes. It took officers from Haltom City through Downtown Fort Worth and back to Haltom City where it ended in flames.
Haltom City police were surprised to learn the driver was just 15 years old.
“He took his mother’s car without her permission. He was out joyriding in it,” explained Haltom City Police Sgt. Eric Peters.
Police say the chase started around 1:40 a.m. An officer noticed the Mercedes driving erratically and started following. But when she turned on her lights, the boy took off and reached speeds up to 130 miles per hour.
Detectives believe the teen started out from his home in Kennedale before heading to Haltom City. Video shows him speeding through Downtown Fort Worth and back onto Highway 121, where he finally got off at the Minnis Drive exit.
“He was trying to make the turn at Minnis under the freeway, but he lost control and ended up running into one of the bridge pillars,” Peters said.
After crashing, the teen got out of the car and surrendered. He told the officer he was just 15 years old. Just 60 seconds after they walked away, the engine burst into flames.
“If he would have been incapacitated because of the wreck and wouldn’t have been able to get out, it could have been worse for him,” Peters said.
The Haltom City Fire Department rushed to battle the flames. A day later, the concrete pillar is still covered in scorch marks.
“The only damage was damage to property in this one,” Peters said. “But, again, it could have been much worse.”
Police say once they had the teen in their custody, they did not believe he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. However, he did not have a driver’s license and didn’t have permission to be out of the house in mom’s car.
The teen could be charged with evading arrest with a vehicle.