Teenagers steal car but slam into pole after police chase in Chiba

Thursday 20th November, 09:33 AM JST

CHIBA —

Two teenage boys were seriously injured Wednesday when the stolen car they were fleeing from police in smashed into a light pole in Chiba Prefecture. A third boy in the car was also injured, police said. All three were arrested.

Police were patrolling Shisui around 6 a.m. Wednesday morning when they identified a stolen vehicle and attempted to question the occupants. The vehicle sped off, and led police on a chase which lasted 20 minutes and spanned 13 kilometers, during which the driver of the stolen vehicle ignored traffic signals. The chase finished with the car smashing into a light pole.

Two of the boys, aged 16 and 17, suffered head injuries and broken hands. Another boy, a 17 year-old part-time student, was injured but not as badly.

The driver was charged with negligence causing injury and driving without a license. The other two boys were arrested on suspicion of stealing the vehicle.

Wire reports

Latest 15 of 28 Total Comments Show All

timeon at 12:22 PM JST - 20th November

the chinpira test highschool cool kids had to pass a few years ago was stealing a bicycle. times are changing...
TokyoGas at 01:16 PM JST - 20th November

The driver was charged with negligence causing injury and driving without a license. The other two boys were arrested on suspicion of stealing the vehicle.

The driver is charged with negligence and the others are charged with stealing? Sounds odd. I would have thought the driver would have been charged with theft along with the others.
wanderlust at 01:49 PM JST - 20th November

The vehicle sped off, and led police on a chase which lasted 20 minutes and spanned 13 kilometers,

Average speed of "car chase" 39 km/ hour!!! I can cycle quicker than that...
whitepocky at 01:58 PM JST - 20th November

The other two boys were arrested on suspicion of stealing the vehicle.

The fact that they were sat in the damn thing when it hit the lamp post suggests to me that they it may be a little bit more than suspicious!!!
Nessie at 02:16 PM JST - 20th November

GTA 3 came out in Japan 5 or 6 years ago, what's your point? people were stealing cars long before there were playstations

And the most stolen car in Japan is the burly Hi-ace van, which is hardly a prime steal in GTA.
dennis0bauer at 03:30 PM JST - 20th November

FreeInJapan you are right, it is probably because they are smoking weed ;)
Sarge at 03:38 PM JST - 20th November

They should have to pay 100% of their medical bills.
DXXJP at 04:01 PM JST - 20th November

Funny they didn't say if the keys were in the car they stole for two reasons. One I doubt they had the skill to steal a locked car, and two if you leave your keys in the car, and its stolen, causes injury, destroys property you the owner are responsible for the damages.
BBLeo at 04:45 PM JST - 20th November

Did cops fund any drug substances i9n the car? They must be on something. Driving so nearly in the morning with such speed well, at least cops got them in time, before they could kill another innocent human. Cops must be also happy to speed behind them. Good exercise early in the morning.
FreeInJapan at 04:54 PM JST - 20th November

Actually, I'm surprised the J-Cops actually GAVE CHASE at all! New eager Rookie perhaps? Giving chase seems totally against the police playbook in this country...
cleo at 04:58 PM JST - 20th November

New eager Rookie perhaps?

Rookies aren't allowed to drive police cars.
FreeInJapan at 06:01 PM JST - 20th November

Rookies aren't allowed to drive police cars.

Ok, then perhaps they were confused and thought it was a bicycle??
FreeInJapan at 06:02 PM JST - 20th November

A bicycle in need of registration check that is...
FreeInJapan at 06:13 PM JST - 20th November

Wait, I have it... there was a bike in need of a registration check attached to a bike rack on the back of the car! It was noticed by a police officer that was dutifully standing watch over an ATM, who called in backup, leading up to the "wild" car chase. The fact that these hoodlums were found in a stolen car and charged with other offenses is likely coincidental and because the bike was found to have a valid registration the J-cops decided to proceed with the other charges so as not to waste all the effort.

My point being, I'm just surprised to see actual action taken to pursue anyone... as usually the case (observed in person) tends to be the police will shy away from pursuing anything larger than a moped.
kavikahi at 04:37 AM JST - 21st November

Slamming into the pole was probably one of the best things for them and others considering they had already committed the crime.