Photo: FleetSafety
Des Moines was the scene of an unlikely car chase yesterday, after police were alerted of a reckless driver going “curb to curb” near East 14th Street and University Avenue.
A patrol car came to the scene and started what must have been their shortest car chase ever. The reckless driver eventually stopped after crashing the car, the Des Moines Register reports.
No one was injured in the accident or the short joyride, police are happy to say. To their surprise, the reckless driver was a 9-year-old girl who had taken her 7-year-old sibling out for a ride. Clearly, they didn’t imagine they would be causing such a commotion – or that they would be getting into this much trouble.
File this under “stupid things we’ve all done as kids, though maybe not as bad.”
Though the girl failed to stop when the police patrol urged her, Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek says he wouldn’t call the chase a “chase” since the kids weren’t “actively fleeing” from cops.
“I wouldn’t classify it as a chase other than the fact that we had our lights on and they didn’t stop,” he says. The kids won’t be charged, but there’s no saving them from the punishment they will be receiving at home, from their parents.
“For whatever reason, they helped themselves to an adult’s keys in the home, grabbed the car and took off,” Parizek says. “We’re not going to refer them to juvenile court. It seems like the adults understood the gravity of the situation. I think we’ll let this thing work out as a parenting issue.”
Neither child was injured, but both were very scared by the time their ride was over. Parizek believes that alone should teach them a lesson and prevent dangerous behavior of the type in the future.
No one was injured in the accident or the short joyride, police are happy to say. To their surprise, the reckless driver was a 9-year-old girl who had taken her 7-year-old sibling out for a ride. Clearly, they didn’t imagine they would be causing such a commotion – or that they would be getting into this much trouble.
File this under “stupid things we’ve all done as kids, though maybe not as bad.”
Though the girl failed to stop when the police patrol urged her, Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek says he wouldn’t call the chase a “chase” since the kids weren’t “actively fleeing” from cops.
“I wouldn’t classify it as a chase other than the fact that we had our lights on and they didn’t stop,” he says. The kids won’t be charged, but there’s no saving them from the punishment they will be receiving at home, from their parents.
“For whatever reason, they helped themselves to an adult’s keys in the home, grabbed the car and took off,” Parizek says. “We’re not going to refer them to juvenile court. It seems like the adults understood the gravity of the situation. I think we’ll let this thing work out as a parenting issue.”
Neither child was injured, but both were very scared by the time their ride was over. Parizek believes that alone should teach them a lesson and prevent dangerous behavior of the type in the future.
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