Sheriff’s Office: 10-year-old driver arrested after crashing stolen car with 12-year-old passenger
By Tori Yorgey
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BALTIMORE (WBAL) — A 10-year-old boy was taken into police custody after crashing a stolen car in East Baltimore Wednesday morning, officials said.
A 12-year-old passenger was also inside the vehicle, Baltimore City Sheriff Sam Cogen exclusively told WBAL-TV 11 News.
Cogen said deputies were serving warrants in East Baltimore when they noticed a Hyundai Elantra pass by them and run through a stop sign.
“They saw a car go by and what they described, they said it was like a little bobblehead that was like (the) top of a child’s head,” Cogen said. “They immediately took notice of it and they saw it go through a stop sign, and they attempted to stop the vehicle and the vehicle fled.”
Cogen said his deputies did not chase the car but did keep up with it until it crashed into a stop sign and fire hydrant by East 23rd and Barclay Streets in East Baltimore.
The Sheriff’s Office said the 10-year-old driver and a 12-year-old passenger got out of the car and attempted to run from deputies. The 12-year-old passenger got away from law enforcement, but the 10-year-old driver was caught and taken into custody.
Deputies said the car was stolen outside of a home in Parkville Saturday night.
“The ignition was popped. So, the ignition was broken out of the car, so it was obviously stolen when they came up on it,” Cogen said. “We don’t know if (the two boys stole) it or not. We know that the car was stolen from Parkville on Saturday night, around 11 p.m. or 12 a.m.”
Cogen said the child was given back to his guardian, adding in the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office is likely not going to be pressing charges due to the child’s age.
Cogen said his office will be filing a Child in Need of Assistance form, and will continue to follow the case.
“They crashed the car, they were going through stop signs. You know, they could be seriously injured, or (they) could seriously hurt somebody. So, it’s one of these things where it’s like, unacceptable,” Cogen told WBAL-TV 11 News. “We’re trying to figure out how to handle this. Like, as a society, we don’t want them to continue down this path but as a 10-year-old, we don’t want them to go to prison as well. So, we have to figure out how to hold them accountable and stop this behavior, but we also have to recognize that they’re a very young person and try not to ruin their life and get them back on track.”
WBAL-TV 11 News reached out to the City State’s Attorney’s Office for comment regarding the decision to not file charges but has not yet heard back.
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