A lesson learned or will it be repeated? 41-Year-Old man make the mistake of leaving his vehicle running at a Wawa. The vehicle is then stolen by a 12-year-old who leads police on a chase and the results are damaging.
New Castle (DE): A New Castle man is sure to be learning his lesson after leaving his vehicle running at a New Castle area Wawa where it was stolen and crashed twice during a police chase.
Police say a 12-Year-old New Castle boy has been arrested and face numerous charges after they say he stole a 2003 Ford Ranger from the parking lot of a New Castle area Wawa.
The teen, who was not identified because of his age, led police on a pursuit from the New Castle area Wawa into the Holloway Terrace neighborhood.
According to a news release, it was just after midnight Sunday when troopers were dispatched to the Wawa in the 4000 block of N. Dupont Highway in New Castle for a report of a stolen vehicle. That’s when they met the owner of the vehicle, a 41 year-old New Castle man from New Castle, who told troopers he went inside to use the ATM and left his red 2003 Ford Ranger running with the doors unlocked in the parking lot.
The man told troopers when he returned to the spot he left his vehicle, he observed it driving away with a young male operating the vehicle.
“Troopers canvassed the area and located the stolen vehicle in a parking lot behind a local area motel. A traffic stop was initiated, but the driver refused to stop and pulled out of the parking lot onto Eastbound West Ave.,” said police spokesman Jason Hatchell. “The pursuit continued onto Lambson Lane where the suspect lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a parked car on the 200 block of Lambson Lane.
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Police say after the crash, the suspect performed a U-turn and began traveling Westbound on West Ave. at a high rate of speed. Then in the area of 11th Street the suspect failed to negotiate a curve, lost control of his vehicle, and crashed into a guardrail.
The juvenile suspect then exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot but pursugin troopers caught up to him and took him into custody.
The juvenile was then transported back to Troop 2 where he was charged with theft of a Motor Vehicle (felony), Hindering Prosecution (felony), Disregarding a Police Officer Signal (felony), Resisting Arrest, Leaving the Scene of Property Collision Accident, Driving Without a Valid License, Careless Driving, Driving Vehicle at Unreasonable or Imprudent Speed (2 counts), Failure to Stop At a Stop Sign, Failed to remain within a single lane (2 counts), Failure to Report a Collision
The juvenile was arraigned before the Justice of the Peace Court and released back to his guardian on $8,008 unsecured bond.
It’s not known if the man will face charges for leaving his vehicle idling unattended.
