Boy, 17, Held in Tanker Joy Ride
A 17-year-old runaway allegedly took a joy ride early Wednesday in a stolen diesel tanker truck, driving erratically down Sherman Way in Canoga Park, smashing into at least five cars and leading police on a short chase that came to a crashing halt just inside the gates of exclusive Hidden Hills.
Police said the boy, whose name was not released, had run away from a Van Nuys group home and took the three-axle semi-truck from a city street maintenance yard in North Hollywood.
After several witnesses called, a Los Angeles Police Department patrol car chased the tanker across more than a dozen city blocks about 1 a.m.
The tanker crashed into a wrought-iron gate and a decorative pillar in Hidden Hills, trapping the boy in the cab. He was extricated by the Los Angeles Fire Department and treated at a hospital for a broken leg and other injuries.
Police booked the boy on charges of grand theft auto, evading police, and hit and run.
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