Vehicle chase ends in arrest of teen

Published 2:51 pm Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Authorities took a 17-year-old male into custody Tuesday afternoon after a vehicle chase that started in Clanton and ended in Prattville.

Clanton Police Chief Keith Maddox said the incident started around 1:45 p.m. when a juvenile probation officer was attempting to perform a drug test on the juvenile male at Chilton County High School.

Maddox said the student was already on probation for a previous crime.

Once the student realized he was going to be tested, Maddox said he ran from the juvenile probation officer, jumped in his car and fled the school campus.

Officers pursued the juvenile, who drove south on U.S. Highway 31 then onto Interstate 65 toward Prattville.

Maddox said at one time, speeds during the chase reached 100 miles per hour.

“When he got to the Prattville area, he was basically surrounded,” Maddox said.

Alabama State Troopers, Autauga County and Chilton County Sheriff’s offices, and the Millbrook Police Department assisted the CPD in the chase.

Maddox said no one was injured during the chase.

The student was taken into custody and sent to a juvenile detention facility.

Due to the student’s age, his name was not released.

Maddox said the student will appear before Chilton County Juvenile Court Judge Rhonda Hardesty.

On Tuesday, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency released information about assisting in the Chilton County pursuit, along with a manhunt for an armed suspect in Montgomery and a vehicle pursuit in Jefferson County.

“ALEA’s mission is to provide public safety for the citizens of Alabama,” according to a release from ALEA. “Today, ALEA’s quick response and actions saved the lives of many as assets were immediately deployed in two vehicle pursuits and a manhunt for an armed suspect,” Secretary of Law Enforcement Spencer Collier said in a release. “Every day, ALEA provides critical assistance to county and municipal law enforcement agencies throughout the state.”