Boy, 11, leads state police on high speed chase
Share with others:
An 11-year-old boy who stole his foster mother's car and led police on a high speed chase last night faces aggravated assault and other charges.
Police were summoned at 7:40 p.m. to Meadowbrook Road in North Strabane after the boy's foster mother, Eileen Shutok-Cutright, 49, reported that the boy had stolen her keys and left in her white Toyota Camry station wagon. The boy, whose family lives in the Cokeburg area, had just moved in with his foster parents Wednesday, according to North Strabane police.
State police Trooper Brian Bell spotted the car at about 9:15 p.m. on Route 917 in Bentleyville and began to pursue it. The boy pulled onto Interstate 70 westbound and continued for eight to 10 miles, state police said, driving at speeds in excess of 80 mph.
The boy pulled off onto Route 519 in Somerset Township, striking Trooper Mark Kern's vehicle. Trooper Bell then struck the back of the station wagon with the right front side of his car, causing the boy to lose control and slam into a utility pole in front of a Sunoco gas station. The boy then tried to flee on foot, but was apprehended.
The boy was treated for minor injuries at Washington Hospital and now is in the custody of the Washington County Juvenile Probation Office. No one else was injured.
The youth is charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, resisting arrest, fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer and 27 traffic violations.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
First Published September 22, 2008 9:01 am
