Juvenile Escapee Dies in Crash of Stolen Pickup
A 14-year-old boy who escaped from a camp for juvenile delinquents was killed when he crashed a stolen pickup into a rock wall on Highway 178.
Curtis Eugene Vaughan escaped Sunday from Camp Erwin Owen, stole a truck from a nearby campground and headed east on Highway 178, said Kern County Deputy Chief Probation Officer Debra Kirkendall.
Vaughan missed a turn on the winding road and was pronounced dead at the scene. He had been at the camp a few weeks for theft, Kirkendall said.
The camp, which has about 125 wards, has no fences or bars to keep them from escaping.
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