Motorist, 12, Busted For Wild Pizza Joy Ride

MAY 4--A 12-year-old Indiana boy was arrested last night after he allegedly stole $20 from a neighbor, took his mother’s Ford Taurus, and went on a pizza run to Little Caesars with two younger children in the vehicle, police report.

The child was collared after leading cops on a chase that included him striking another vehicle, an accident that left his passengers--a girl, 6, and her brother, 7--with minor injuries. The driver told officers that he knew police “were attempting to stop him, but did not stop because he was afraid.”

The boy, whose name was redacted from a Beech Grove Police Department report, was booked last night on a variety of criminal charges and placed into a juvenile detention facility.

According to investigators, the boy said that he took his mother’s car keys and first drove to an Indianapolis park to show his young passengers “where he plays baseball.” While there, a witness spotted the boy driving and called 911. However, Indianapolis cops were unable to locate the child.

From there, the boy drove about three miles to Little Caesars, where he bought a pizza “using a $20 bill which he had stolen from a neighbor.” A witness, Melynda Golden, called cops when she spotted the boy drive away with “two younger children in the vehicle, but no adults.”

Golden, 45, told police that she had earlier encountered the boy inside the pet shop where she works. Golden asked the child if he was with a parent, “to which the boy responded ‘no.’”

When Golden saw the boy drive away from Little Caesars, she “attempted to block his escape with her own vehicle,” but he “drove over the business sidewalk to evade her.” Golden, who called police while following the Taurus, reported that the boy’s young passengers were “un-buckled and were being jostled about the car.”

A Beech Grove cop eventually joined the pursuit as the boy weaved around cars, drove on the road’s shoulder, and struck a Jeep at an intersection (which left the Taurus leaking coolant). As officers prepared to use “stop sticks” to slow the boy down, he ran into traffic, allowing a cop to block the Taurus and take the child into custody.

Medics were summoned to treat the three children for injuries suffered during the chase (the girl had a “large contusion to her forehead”).

Jessica Strode, the mother of the two passengers, told police that she believed her children were being watched by Kimberly Terry, the mother of the 12-year-old driver. Terry, however, said that she was unaware that the younger children had even been at her home.

The underage motorist told police that he had gone to Little Caesars because “the other children were hungry.” The South Emerson Avenue pizza joint does not deliver, an employee told a caller today. (3 pages)