Three young boys from Ohio, with an 11-year-old behind the wheel, led police officers on a pursuit in a stolen car before crashing it into a house. Authorities expressed concerns about how this incident might affect Santa Claus’s upcoming visit.
The pursuit began on a Saturday afternoon when a license plate scanner alerted Newburgh Heights police to a Mazda 3 reported stolen in the vicinity, according to a police report.
As an officer attempted to stop the car, the young driver sped away. The chase ended when the vehicle collided with a nearby house, prompting the three boys inside, aged 8, 11, and 12, to flee on foot, the police reported.
(Newburgh Heights Police Department)
The boys were quickly apprehended, and the house sustained only minor damage, according to the report.
Footage from police body cameras shows two of the boys standing near what looks like a garage, complying with an officer’s order to get on the ground. The third boy is seen approaching his friends after being instructed to come over.
The kids were heard cowering in fear.
“I’m sorry,” one boy is heard saying. “Can you call my mom?”
“We’re going to jail?” one boy is heard asking before being told the three would be detained. “Oh my God.”
At one point, an officer escorts the 12-year-old to a police cruiser.
Newburgh Heights Police Department bodycam footage shows the arrest of two young Ohio boys suspected of stealing a vehicle. (Newburgh Heights Police Department )
“You’re 12-years-old… stealing cars,” the officer is heard saying. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
When questioned by investigators, the boys said they went to a store when they spotted a vehicle, authorities said. One boy allegedly said that “something just came over his body and he could not control it, he needed to take the car,” a police report states.
They said they learned to steal cars from watching videos on YouTube, police said. Following their arrest, the boys were worried about how it would impact their holiday, police said.
“All three boys stated that they know right from wrong and admitted what they did was wrong,” the report said. “While in our custody they were concerned about how this would affect Santa coming to bring them presents.
Bodycam footage released by the Newburgh Heights Police Department shows two young suspected car thieves cowering in fear after being caught by police following a short car and foot chase. (Newburgh Heights Police Department )
One boy allegedly told authorities that he was going to “get coal for Christmas” because of what they did, police said.
The suspects were released to their parents and guardians.
