Pasco deputies: 14-year-old fled, crashed stolen car

HUDSON, Fla. (FOX 13) - Pasco County deputy's body camera recorded as the deputy chased down a 14-year-old allegedly driving a stolen vehicle.

Before the chase, the juvenile suspect apparently stole the car from a dealership on US 19 in Hudson, Florida, according to an arrest affidavit from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

It happened on December 9. An employee at Golden Oldies Auto Sales told investigators a black male came into the sales office and took the keys to a gray 2015 Mazda 6.

The employee told deputies the suspect backed the car through the parking lot and drove through the metal rope blocking the parking lot, and then sped off on US 19.

Later, a deputy spotted the Mazda being driven by a person resembling the suspected car thief. While the deputy radios-in the tag number, it becomes clear the driver might be ready to take off.

"I'm gonna try and stop him, he's gonna try and run," the deputy says into his radio.

The deputy's body camera recorded what happened next.

The Mazda pulls up behind another law enforcement vehicle stopped at the Beacon Woods Drive intersection. The deputy activates his lights and sirens as the driver of the Mazda swerves around the cruiser and blows through the red light.

The suspect changed lanes several times to avoid a stop stick device, other vehicles, and a person who was walking across the roadway, but jumped back in the other direction.

At one point, the deputy said the suspect reached 70 miles per hour.

After the short pursuit, the suspect crashed the Mazda, hitting a road sign and rolling the vehicle twice before it came to a stop, eight miles from where the vehicle was stolen.

After the crash, the suspect took off on foot into the parking lot of a nearby shopping center. The deputy chased as another sheriff's cruiser entered the parking lot.

They caught up with the 14-year-old, who is being charged with grand theft and criminal mischief. The suspect has never been issued a driver's license.