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Police: Ohio teen leads chief on high-speed chase with two young children in car

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LORDSTOWN, Ohio– A 17-year-old Warren girl is in custody after investigators say she led Lordstown police on a high-speed chase before crashing a stolen vehicle with her two young children inside.

Lordstown Police Chief Brent Milhoan said he was running radar in a school zone on Salt Springs Road around 8 a.m. Thursday when he clocked a 2008 Dodge Avenger going 37 miles per hour in a 20 mph zone.

Milhoan said he followed the vehicle into a gas station, and as he approached the car, the driver took off. Milhoan said he chased the car with speeds reaching more than 100 mph. He said he called off the chase as the pursuit neared a school zone in Warren Township.

Moments later, the driver crashed through a guard rail and hit a car in a parking lot, according to Milhoan.

He said the 17-year-old’s two young children, ages 9 months and 2 years, were in the car at the time. There was also a 14-year-old boy who had been reported missing out of the Columbus area. No one was hurt.

Milhoan said the Avenger was stolen out of the Cleveland area.

The girl told investigators she fled because she didn’t have a license. She said she purchased the vehicle in Columbus Thursday morning for $50 and did not know it was stolen, Milhoan said.

She faces two charges of endangering children, a charge of fleeing and eluding and a charge of receiving stolen property. She also faces traffic charges for speeding, driving without a license, not wearing a seat belt and not having a car seat for the older child.

The children were evaluated at a hospital before being released to a relative, according to Milhoan. Authorities were making arrangements to get the 14-year-old home.