Local News in Brief : Boy, 9, Put on Probation

A 9-year-old Gardena boy was sentenced to five years’ probation and placed in a foster home Thursday after he admitted committing involuntary manslaughter when a car he was driving during a high-speed police chase struck and killed a man.

The boy was taken from his parents and handed over to juvenile authorities immediately after Inglewood Juvenile Court Judge Charles Scarlett heard testimony at the closed hearing, prosecutors said. He will remain in a foster home and receive counseling until authorities determine that he can return to his parents, prosecutors said.

The boy, whose name was not released because of his age, took his parents’ car for a joy ride as they slept one evening last January. After hitting four parked cars and a house, he led police on a chase, going up to 100 m.p.h., that ended when he ran a red light and broadsided a car driven by Bobby N. Colvin, 36, of Inglewood.

Colvin, a math teacher and the father of four, was pronounced dead at the scene. The boy, who was pulled from the car as it burst into flames, suffered a broken leg.