11-Year-Old Crashes Stolen Car in North Portland

Two boys, aged 13 and 11, respectively, were arrested this morning after stealing a car and then crashing it in North Portland.

The 11-year-old was driving.

"Arresting 11-year-olds is not an everyday occurrence," says Sgt. Pete Simpson, a spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau. "To arrest an 11-year-old, we need permission from the juvenile court."

That means that after the kids were apprehended, the police had to obtain permission to book them.

Simpson added that in this case, the 11-year-old was already known to police.

The two middle-school-aged boys were caught, according to a report from the Portland Police Bureau, after officers "responded to the report of a drunk driver that crashed into two parked cars in the 4200 block of North Juneau Street."

Simpson says the boys were with a third child, who was later released.

As the police responded, the youths drove off and made it to the 3300 block of North Farragut Street, "approximately one mile from the original crash scene," where they abandoned the vehicle and hid out in the neighborhood until the cops found, and then arrested, them.

No one was injured in the crash.

Both boys were reported as runaways and were taken to Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Home, a juvenile detention facility and charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

The police say that additional charges might be added by the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office.

The boys may now have gained the insight I acquired when I totaled my parents' car at age 13—driving is harder than it looks.

If you want to run away, try a bike.

Willamette Week