Two teenagers have been arrested after a stolen vehicle incident in Fort Lauderdale led to two police officers being injured when their vehicles crashed into each other. The 14-year-old and 17-year-old suspects are facing charges of grand theft of a vehicle and resisting arrest, as reported by NBC Miami.
Early Wednesday, the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) initiated a call about a stolen tag, later uncovering that the car connected to the teens had allegedly been taken from Marion County, the agency said the grey Hyundai Elantra led officers from several jurisdictions on a chase through Broward County, the pursuit continued with the teens ultimately being apprehended in Fort Lauderdale after they fled the vehicle on foot, WSVN reports.
In a related but separate incident resulting from the same pursuit, two Fort Lauderdale officers en route to provide assistance crashed at the 1100 block of W. Las Olas Boulevard—one hitting a pole at a convenience store and the other catching fire—a scene captured on surveillance and confirmed by Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue who responded and transported the officers to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Following the accident that damaged the convenience store and its surroundings, the store's owner, identified only as Ms. Cherry, lamented the impact on her business, which she claimed has been there for 45 years, stating, “This is a real mess. Everything broken. The tree, bushes, the grass,” this was shared during an interview with WSVN, additionally, a neighbor, Michael Shababo, revealed his surprise upon waking up to the commotion caused by the police, “I was dead asleep, and I just hear screaming, and I wake up,” he said, he looked out to find his backyard swarming with police, an event captured by a Ring camera and later shared by police and media outlets.
The apprehended teens, named by authorities as Jayden Ruiz and Eric Burch, were ordered by the court to remain in custody for 21 days following their initial appearance.
