A 15-year-old Durango boy led police on a short chase early Thursday before driving into a tree and surrendering.
The incident started at 1:02 a.m. in the 500 block of Florida Road, near Chapman Hill.
An officer with the Durango Police Department spotted a gold 1990 Nissan Pathfinder driving east with a flat tire on the driver’s side, said Sgt. Rita Warfield.
The officer activated his overhead lights to initiate the stop, and the driver accelerated eastbound, she said. The vehicle crossed the double-yellow line and the white fog line, lost control several times and reached speeds of 50 mph.
The driver turned right on Ute Pass West, just outside city limits, before reaching a dead-end and turning around. The vehicle ran into a tree near Ute Pass West and Florida Road, she said.
The driver, who was not identified because he is a juvenile, got out of the car and was handcuffed.
He was intoxicated, had no driver’s license and did not have permission to be driving his grandparents’ car, Warfield said.
He was taken to the Robert E. DeNier Youth Services Center. He is suspected of drunken driving and felony eluding.
The chase lasted about 3 minutes and covered a distance of 3.2 miles, Warfield said.
The flat tire was completely shredded.
shane@durangoherald.com
