Madison County deputies use spike strip to stop runaway teens in stolen vehicle
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REXBURG — Deputies used a spike strip to stop a reportedly stolen vehicle driven by two teens who failed to obey commands to pull over.
Madison County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Isaac Payne told EastIdahoNews.com the incident happened Wednesday. Two kids from Madison County went missing and were entered into the sheriff’s office database as runaways.
Payne said through interviews with the teen’s friends; they learned that a 14-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl planned to steal one of their family member’s vehicles and leave.
The 1998 chevy pickup was reported stolen and spotted at 6 p.m. driving southbound on the Salem Highway in Fremont County.
“We caught up to it as it entered our county, and deputies attempted to stop it,” Payne said.
The 14-year-old boy was driving the vehicle, while the 14-year-old girl was the passenger. They did not stop and continued to travel southbound and onto U.S. Highway 20.
“(Deputies) ended up using a spike strip around milepost 325, and they still didn’t stop,” Payne said. “They continued to attempt to drive and ended up colliding with another vehicle —- a four-door sedan —- and they finally stopped around milepost 321 on southbound Highway 20.”
The spike strip took out the front and back tire of the vehicle on the driver’s side. The incident ended around 6:40 p.m. near Rigby.
Payne said the teens drove relatively close to the speed limit the entire time. There was only one point they were speeding, but it didn’t last very long.
Nobody was seriously injured in the incident.
Deputies took both kids into custody and transported them to the juvenile detention center in Fremont County.
The driver was arrested for felony grand theft of a vehicle, felony eluding, and felony hit and run. The passenger was arrested for felony aiding and abetting in the vehicle theft.
Names of the teens are not being released since they are minors.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Idaho State Police.