Four Ohio teens face felony charges in armed car hijacking case

Dayton, Ohio (WDTN) — Four teens are facing felony charges for allegedly carrying out an armed carjacking before leading a Springfield police high-speed chase in May.

Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott called the incident “a series of armed violent crimes that terrorized multiple victims.”

The police released a six-and-a-half-minute video of what happened on the morning of May 22.

A teenage boy broke into a home, stole cash and a silver minivan, and then met with three other teenage boys, Springfield police said.

Over the next few hours, police believe the teens carjacked or attempted to carjack three different people. At least one teenager, armed with a semi-automatic pistol, allegedly showed and pointed the gun at the victims.

There were multiple 110 calls, including one from a person who said he saw a minivan with a suspicious person wearing a mask.

Just before 8:30 a.m., police found the stolen minivan with masked teens inside. One of the teenage boys ran off, and police chased the other three in a stolen van.

Dashcam video shows part of the chase as the van ignores traffic lights and drives through city streets. The chase continued on a country road, where police said the top speed exceeded 90 mph.

In the end, the driver crashed the car into a ditch. Two teenagers got out of the car and started running. One of the teenagers suffered a head injury in the crash, police said.

The police chased the teens through grass, where they climbed a wooden fence.

Officers tried to stop the car, but a teenage boy was on top of it and slid over the fence. The boy fell onto the hood, tumbled down and kept running.

An independent investigation by the Ohio Highway Patrol found that the officer tried to stop about 18 feet before hitting the fence, and images show the boy had already hit the fence before he hit it. had suffered a head injury.

One of the officers pulled out his weapon during the chase, but police said they saw the allegedly armed boy let go of his pants and put the weapon back into its holster.

Another officer pulled out a taser, but re-holstered it as the teens continued running. Ultimately, the police were able to detain the two boys.

A boy with a head injury was taken to hospital by helicopter and another by ambulance. Both were subsequently treated and released.

When police searched the vehicle, they found a loaded handgun inside.

All four teens have been charged with several felonies and could be charged as adults.