A 13-year-old boy and his passenger were arrested Friday after leading police on a dangerous chase in a stolen vehicle in Lancaster City, police said. An officer spotted the boy driving the stolen car around 10:15 a.m. when he failed to stop at two stop signs near South Christian Street and Dauphin Street.
The boy refused to pull over and was pursued for several blocks until he pulled into the parking lot of the Washington Elementary School along the 500 block of South Ann Street, investigators said.
The boy hopped out of the moving vehicle–leaving the 18-year-old male passenger–and fled on foot towards a nearby wooded area. According to police reports, group of about 40 children were attending summer camp on the school grounds when the stolen vehicle almost struck the crowd. Police say a bystander actually jumped into the moving vehicle to prevent it from going into the crowd.
The passenger, identified as Jewels Diamond Pilgrim, was arrested at the scene. After a brief search of the woods–police found the 13-year-old boy and were able to take him into custody.
The juvenile was charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, fleeing or eluding police, two counts of theft from a motor vehicle, two counts of reckless endangerment, and several traffic violations. He was taken to the Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center.
Pilgrim was charged with receiving stolen property and possession of a small amount of marijuana. He was taken to Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $20,000 bail.
A preliminary hearing for Pilgrim is scheduled for July 2.
Police say the vehicle was stolen from an auto body shop in the 900 block of East King Street earlier in the day. The license plate was also stolen from a Dodge Durango taht was parked in the 200 block of N. Reservoir Street.