A teenager who took the keys to the family minivan crashed into a power pole and caused an outage for a King County neighborhood last week, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies were dispatched around 4 p.m. Oct. 26 to a report of vehicle theft in the 21500 block of SE 298 Place. The residence was in unincorporated King County near Kent.
The caller said her 15-year-old son broke into a bedroom and stole cash and keys to the family’s car, officials said. The boy then drove off in the car with a friend.
The teen’s mother tracked his phone to the Black Diamond area. A Covington deputy was nearby and found the boy and the car. The deputy turned on the car’s emergency lights and tried to stop the van, but the teenager tried to drive away.
The boy accelerated toward the road’s shoulder, swerved and hit a power pole. The accident knocked out power for a large part of the neighborhood.
The teenager was detained shortly after, and claiming his foot slipped off the brake as he was pulling to the side of the road, according to officials.
Energy was quickly restored to the neighborhood.
The teenager’s mom took him and the damaged car back home.
The sheriff’s office is considering criminal charges as well as alternative methods, a blotter post said.
Cox Media Group
