Teen Arrested After Chase Onto Track

A police pursuit ended Tuesday when a boy drove a stolen car onto a high school athletic field, forcing students to run for safety and slightly injuring a student who was struck by the car’s side mirror, authorities said.

The 15-year-old boy driving a Ford Escort led police to San Fernando High School, where students scattered as he drove through an open gate at the campus’ Chamberlain Street entrance, said Sgt. Jim Brady of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division.

The boy, whose name was withheld because he is a juvenile, drove onto the dirt track surrounding the football field, police said. He stopped near a football blocking sled and surrendered to officers about 11:15 a.m., police said. A 17-year-old girl was a passenger in the stolen Ford, police said.

About 35 students in a physical education class were on the field when the car drove in, said Principal Philip Saldivar. The school’s gate, which is usually closed, was open, because the school had a carnival during the weekend and fair trucks were leaving the school, he said.

A 16-year-old girl struck by the stolen car’s side mirror suffered a bruised hand and was treated by a school nurse, Saldivar said.

Students shaken up by the incident were released to their parents, Saldivar said.

The 15-minute pursuit began when the boy refused to stop for officers who saw him commit a traffic violation at the intersection of San Fernando Road and the Ronald Reagan Freeway in Pacoima, Brady said. Three squad cars pursued the driver at about 45 mph, he said.

Officers booked the boy on suspicion of grand theft auto and felony evading, Brady said. Officers detained but then released the female passenger, police said.