High-Speed Chase Leads To Teen's Arrest
POSTED: Wednesday, August 22, 2007
UPDATED: 6:08 pm EDT August 22,
2007
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A high-speed chase through two counties Wednesday morning ended just after noon when a juvenile suspected of stealing a vehicle was taken into custody just outside Baptist South Medical Center.
A St. Johns County deputy said he spotted a Toyota Sequoia SUV on U.S. Highway 1 and gave chase. The pursuit continued on state Road 210 then onto Interstate 95 north at speeds up to 110 mph.
Officials said the driver exited I-95 at St. Augustine Road and ditched the car in the parking lot of Baptist South.
A citizen who also chased the speeding car told Channel 4's Melanie Lawson what he saw.
"He had passed me on the shoulder side of the road, on the left-hand side," C.J. Riney said. "He got out and I hollered at him, and when I yelled at him he turned around and looked at me and then he bolted off running."
Witnesses said they saw the driver run toward the hospital and the building was searched. Police also searched the surrounding area with ground units and a helicopter.
A K-9 unit picked up the scent and tracked the suspect to where he was hiding in a construction zone just outside the hospital.
Police have not released the name of the person taken into custody as he is a juvenile. They also have not released what charges he will face.
The SUV was stolen earlier in the morning from John Peterson, who had stopped at a Hess convenience store on state Road 207.
"I put my keys on my front seat and went around the others side and grabbed my wallet out of the glove compartment," Peterson said. "I wasn't in there 30 seconds. When I came out I saw a Sequoia same as mine leaving the parking lot and didn't think anything of it. Then I looked where my car should have been and it was gone."
The deputy who responded to investigate the stolen vehicle gave him a ride to the south Duval County scene where his SUV was recovered. He hoped to get it back after police finished lifting fingerprints and gathering other evidence.
"I guess I'm not going to leave my keys in my car any more," Peterson said.
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