13-year-old arrested in Collier County after maxing 140 mph during chase

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arrest
Credit: Florida Highway Patrol

The Florida Highway Patrol has arrested a 13-year-old for allegedly fleeing from troopers in a car following an early morning traffic stop.

According to FHP, at around 3:40 a.m. on Wednesday, troopers pulled over a Dodge Challenger for failing to maintain a single lane on Immokalee Road near Wilson Boulevard in Collier County. 

FHP reports that troopers approached the vehicle, and the driver began to accelerate from the stop, trying to flee from law enforcement.

The vehicle reached speeds as high as 140 mph, according to FHP. And residents were shocked.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said George Graves, a Naples resident. “A 13-year-old going that fast, anyone going that fast is just unbelievable. It’s crazy.”

“Why’s a 13-year-old out, and where’s his parents,” Kyle McClain asked, a Fort Myers resident who drove past the scene Wednesday morning. “That kid should be at home, but I don’t know kids these days. They do all sorts of crazy stuff.”

Following a brief pursuit, troopers located the teenager with the vehicle’s lights turned off on Immokalee Road at Quarry Drive.

FHP stated nobody was hit nor harmed in the pursuit. A miracle for someone who, most likely, has never driven before in their life.

“I mean for a 13-year-old kid driving, I mean, I guess he did OK,” said McClain. “He didn’t crash.”

According to FHP, they believe the car was not stolen, as they found the owner of the Dodge Challenger to be the 13-year-old’s stepdad.

The teenager was then arrested and booked into the Collier County Jail for fleeing law enforcement and driving without a license.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office might process him into juvenile detention on Wednesday.

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