Teens allegedly stole car, led police on high-speed chase after their cellphones were taken away

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) - Authorities say two teenage girls stole a staff member’s car from an Ohio group home and led police on a high-speed chase that reached 100 mph.

The high-speed chase happened around 1:15 a.m. last Monday. Police say the teens, ages 13 and 15, stole a staff member’s car at a group home in Dayton and drove from there to Bowling Green.

Bowling Green Police received a plate reader hit for the stolen vehicle in the area of Route 25 and Demps Road. Dash camera video shows officers attempting to stop the car driven by the 13-year-old. The driver fled when officers tried to make the stop.

Police say they did not initially know the driver was 13 years old and the passenger was 15.

“It was a 13- and a 15-year-old out of Montgomery County. We received information they were in a group home down there,” Bowling Green Police Lt. Ryan Tackett said. “As far as we can gather from the report, their cellphone was taken away from them by the caregiver at the house, and then, they took the car.”

The teen driver sped past Perrysburg Police during the chase.

The pursuit ended when the stolen vehicle struck another car near the intersection of Route 25 and Interstate 475. The driver of the other vehicle was not injured.

The two teenagers jumped out of the stolen car and attempted to flee on foot before being apprehended. The 13-year-old was taken to a hospital with a shoulder injury and remains hospitalized. The 15-year-old appeared before a judge last Monday in Wood County Juvenile Court, where she was appointed a lawyer and ordered to remain in custody.

Both teens are charged with receiving stolen property and failure to comply with police orders.

“Due to them being from another county, a lot of times that’s transferred back to the county where they originate from,” Tackett said. “We were a little bit surprised that it was a 13-and a 15-year-old, especially the speeds approaching 100 mph.”

The 15-year-old is scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 15.