Drunk 12-year-old girl steals grandfather's car, leads cops on high-speed chase before crashing into speed limit sign
Police in New Mexico have arrested a 12-year-old girl for stealing her grandfather's car and leading them on a dangerous high-speed chase which ended after she crashed the vehicle into a speed limit sign. They said she, and three of her friends between the ages of 12 and 13 who were also in the car, were all drunk.
According to KRQE, who obtained lapel video of the chase, Alamogordo police were on an unrelated call earlier this month when a suspicious car caught their attention on West US Highway 70. But before they even tried to pull it over, the driver began speeding away.
Officers had to chase the car to South US Highway 54, where the 12-year-old lost control on a turn, plowed into a speed limit sign. The impact shattered the front windshield and saw the vehicle nearly hit two police cars.
"Put your hands up now! Put 'em up!" an officer can be heard saying as he approached the car. "Get on the ground, now!"
When the young girl walked out of the driver's side with her hands raised, the cops' reaction was one of surprise. The department admitted that it was only then that they realized the culprits were minors.
Speaking about the case, Alamogordo Police Chief Brian Peete said, "It's scary. It's concerning. There's a lot of mixed emotions with it because we don't know the situation, the dynamics at home."
The girl reportedly confessed to waiting until her grandfather had fallen asleep before taking his car and picking up the other three girls so they could drink.
Police revealed they found Twisted-brand hard iced teas and a Smirnoff product in the car. Her father, whose identity has not been revealed to protect the pre-teen, said he did not know where she could have gotten them as they don't drink at their home.
Angered at his daughter's actions, the father also told police he was okay with them putting her behind bars for a day to teach her a lesson. "If you've got to keep her in jail tonight, if you think it's right, do it," he said.
"For young folks to get ahold of A) alcohol, and then B) a vehicle, and then adding them both together, normally this situation is very...often it doesn't work out as well as it did in this case," Peete said.
The 12-year-old was charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), for leading police on the chase, and for underage drinking. The other three girls were charged with just underage drinking.
"Grateful no one was hurt, no one was injured...But how do we move forward in trying to get these things from happening again, how can we become more involved?" Peete was quoted saying.
KRQE reported that Alamogordo Police are working with the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department and the district attorney's office in investigating the case further.