Teenage boy crashes stolen car in Vista

A 13-year-old boy led deputies on a short vehicle police chase that ended in a fiery crash at about 1:30 a.m. on June 24, according to authorities. No one was seriously hurt, and the boy was hauled off to juvenile hall after he was cleared of any medical concerns, police said.

The vehicle had been reported stolen late Sunday night, and a deputy saw it being driven without its headlights on at North Santa Fe Avenue and Bobier Drive. But the driver refused to pull over.

“It started off as a failure to yield,” said Geoff Weiss, communications supervisor for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. “Then it crashed, it caught fire, and they had to pull the suspect-victim out.”

The nearly block-length pursuit ended after the driver crashed the car into bushes and a wood fence next to a residence at Bobier Drive and Kiva Lane.

Weiss said a deputy broke a window in the car and extracted the juvenile from the vehicle. He also said a deputy put out the car fire with a fire extinguisher, but the flames reignited and firefighters had to do it again.