Lewis County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) deputies pulled out the “stop sticks” Wednesday afternoon to disable a fleeing 2012 Ford F-150 driven by an unnamed 15-year-old boy.
The juvenile had allegedly stolen the truck shortly before the chase — during regular school hours, no less.
According to a Facebook post from the LCSO, the incident began when deputies responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in the 100 block of Cedar Ridge Drive in Centralia.
“Deputies quickly located the vehicle near Borst Park and attempted to stop the vehicle,” the LCSO stated. “The driver eluded pursuing police vehicles and was later stopped after deploying stop sticks. The vehicle was safely disabled, and the juvenile driver was taken into custody without further incident.”
Stop sticks are specifically used to deflate the tires of a suspect’s vehicle and end pursuits.
Images captured by The Chronicle just after the incident show the incapacitated F-150 resting on the side of Airport Road, its right rear tire shredded and hanging from the wheel.
The front right tire was almost entirely ripped off. It was curled next to a fence by the road.
According to the LCSO, the juvenile male suspect was booked into Lewis County Juvenile Detention on charges of second-degree taking a motor vehicle without permission and attempting to elude a police vehicle.
“We’d like to thank our deputies for their swift and safe response,” the LCSO stated in its post.
