California 12-year-old steals minivan, leads deputies on high-speed chase

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A 12-year-old boy from California is in hot water after he took his family's minivan on a joyride, leading police on a high-speed chase.

A Fresno County Sheriff's deputy saw a large cloud of dust at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday after a minivan had hit an advertisement sign.

Police were led on a high-speed chase after a 12-year-old boy stole his family car. (Fresno County Sheriff's Office)

When he went to investigate the dust cloud, a local told the deputy that a minivan had hit a sign and sped away.

The deputy caught up to the van and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver refused to pull over, topping speeds of more than 70 mph, running into stop signs and driving on the opposite side of the road. 

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Deputies said they made several attempts to disable the minivan by setting up spike strips, but the boy avoided them.

The 12-year-old was eventually caught by police after police set up spike strips. (Fresno County Sheriff's Office)

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Authorities said at about 10:30 a.m., a sergeant was putting a spike strip in place and the boy nearly struck him but instead hit the spike strip.

The minivan's tire was damaged after hitting the spike strip and the driver was forced to stop a mile away.

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Deputies said they arrested the 12-year-old driver, who has been booked into Juvenile Hall on charges of auto theft, evading police and assault with a deadly weapon. Police later learned that the young boy took his family car and intended to drive to his old home in Sacramento.