OXNARD : 2 Teen-Agers Held After Chase, Crash

Two teen-agers suspected of a “dine and dash” at a late-night Oxnard eatery led police on a high-speed pursuit through the city in a stolen car that resulted in the wrecking of a patrol car early Tuesday, authorities reported.

Police said it all started about 3:20 a.m. when the manager of Denny’s Restaurant at Glenwood Drive and Oxnard Boulevard called to report the two teen-agers had skipped out on their bill.

Police spotted their car on Ivywood Drive near H Street.

The car sped through a stop sign, and two police cruisers gave chase through a residential neighborhood.

At Fernwood Drive and F Street, the stolen car stopped abruptly and the lead cruiser, driven by Officer R. Jason Benites, slammed into it.

Benites’ car was disabled, but a cruiser driven by Sgt. Fred Sedillos picked up the pursuit.

The chase ended when the stolen car crashed into a telephone pole on Gonzalez Road and the two 16-year-old boys in the car were arrested.

No one was hurt.

Because of their age, police did not disclose the youths’ names.

They were booked into Juvenile Hall on suspicion of evading a police officer, hit and run, occupying and driving a stolen vehicle, resisting arrest, possession of burglary tools and use of a police scanner in the commission of a crime.