Police: Joyriding Teen Led Officer on High Speed Chase

A 16-year-old township girl led Manchester police on a high-speed chase Tuesday, even continuing to elude officers after crashing into woods, police said.

The teenager, whose name was not released by police because of her age, allegedly ran through a red light, ignored an officer’s attempts to pull her over, and hit top speed of more than 100 mph, according to Capt. Lisa Parker.

The chase began after 5 a.m. Tuesday when Officer Michael Anderson observed a grey SUV on Manchester Boulevard run a red light at the road’s intersection with Route 70. When Anderson activated his emergency lights, the SUV allegedly ignored the signal and began to accelerate, Parker said.

This vehicle, identified as a 2010 Toyota wagon, continued onto Beckerville Road West at speeds in excess of 100 mph and was posing a “substantial risk” to the public, Parker said.  

As the vehicle approached the intersection of Horicon Avenue and Beckerville Road West, the driver lost control and crashed into the woods, Parker said.

Despite the crash, the driver refused to stop and got back on to Beckerville Road East, Parker said. At this time, Anderson suspected the driver was impaired in some way and continued pursuing the car.

The SUV went back on to Route 70 and went through Lakehurst before slowing and running out of gas, coming to stop on the state highway near mile marker 46, Parker said.

Officers conducted a felony stop and took the teenager into custody without incident, according to Parker.

No injuries were reported, and an investigation determined that the girl was not impaired, Parker said.

The Toyota was towed back to Manchester Police Department headquarters and later released to the girl’s parents. Both parents told police they did not know their daughter left the house and took their vehicle, Parker said.

The teenager was charged with eluding police, joyriding and several motor vehicle summonses. Due to the severity of the charges, she was transported to the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center in Toms River, according to Parker.