Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CEDAR CITY — Five teenagers are in police custody accused of leading troopers on a high-speed chase through southern Utah Sunday in a stolen car. The driver, troopers say, was just 14 years old.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Ryan Bauer said at about 7:30 p.m. troopers were alerted to vehicle driving recklessly in the southbound lanes of I-15.
"They were speeding, taking up a couple lanes of traffic, not letting other people around them when they weren't speeding," Bauer said, "and that's how the initial call came in."
But when troopers caught up to the car just north of Cedar City, the driver refused to stop, Bauer said. The chase reached speeds of nearly 120 miles an hour before the teen driver tried to get off the freeway at the exit near the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center.
"The driver took exit 40, southbound, and then tried to make a left-hand turn as if they were going to go back onto the freeway, was driving too fast, was not able to make the turn," Bauer said.
The vehicle hit a sign and crashed into a ditch. Bauer said three of the teens tried to run, but they were all captured.
In addition to identifying the car as stolen, Bauer said troopers found a stolen gun inside the vehicle.
All five teens from Colorado were being held in a juvenile detention center Monday night. They're facing felony charges.
Contributing: Stace Hall
