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Girls, 12 and 5, start high-speed police chase after taking grandmother's car for joyride

By Cory McCord - Digital News Editor , Brandon Walker - Reporter

CONROE, Texas - Channel 2 Investigates has learned through a police source that a 12-year-old who led police on a harrowing chase in Montgomery County was trying to visit her boyfriend.

Police said when a Conroe Police Department officer spotted the car around 5:30 p.m. in the 12000 block of West Davis, the 12-year-old did not pull over, starting a 35- to 40-mile chase, with her 5-year-old sister in the front passenger seat.

"The younger girl was terrified. Went right into the arms of our officer when it was over," Montgomery Police Chief Jim Napolitano said Friday.

KPRC 2 has obtained the dash cam video of the police pursuit. In the video, the girl drives on the wrong side of the road, the shoulder on the wrong side of the road and barely squeezes between two vehicles stopped in a lane of traffic on the other side.

[WATCH THE DASH CAM VIDEO HERE]

During the chase, police said the kids hit two or three vehicles before finally pulling over at Montgomery High School. There were no injuries.

"The vehicle being pursued hit multiple vehicles along 105 resulting in minor damage and no injuries, thank goodness. The two juveniles were involved and no injuries at that point either," Jim Napolitano, Montgomery Police Department, said.

According to a witness who was driving on Highway 105 with three kids in the car, their vehicle was almost hit by the kids, knocking a mirror off the car. The witness then saw the granddaughter driving on the shoulder in the wrong direction of the highway. Police said the chase speeds reached close to 100 mph.

"The fastest that I saw was 126," J.D. Lambright, Montgomery County attorney, said after reviewing dashcam video.
 
The chase ended when police notified General Motor Co.'s OnStar call center and asked that the car a 2014 Chevy Cruz, be remotely shut down.
 
The car rolled to a stop near Montgomery High School.

Police said the 12-year-old was taken into custody and the 5-year-old was picked up by the grandmother.

The 12-year-old girl is charged with theft of property over $30,000. More charges are pending.

She's being held at the Montgomery County Juvenile Detention Center and will appear in court Tuesday. 

2016 Click2Houston/KPRC2