A teen behind the wheel of a stolen Mustang taking a joyride is facing criminal charges after police nabbed him in Drayton Valley Saturday night.
Just before 7 p.m., the Drayton Valley RCMP says it began fielding reports of a driver behind the wheel of a yellow Mustang driving dangerously in the community.
That coincided with a report of the theft of a car going by the same description in the nearby Village of Breton.
RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff says the stolen car wasn’t tough to find.
“Having been a police officer for a while, when you’re looking for a white Ford F-150 pickup truck, you end up racing behind multiple Ford F1 pickup trucks, it seems like there’s one around every corner when you’re looking for one versus a yellow Mustang,” he told 660 NewsRadio.
“It would have been extraordinarily easy for officers once spotted to know for sure that that’s the vehicle that they’re looking for.”
After Mounties tracked the car down, Savinkoff says the driver refused to stop and carried on driving dangerously.
“When we went to stop this vehicle, it went away from us at a high rate of speed in which we discontinued the pursuit just due to the dangerous driving behaviour and not wanting to put the public at risk,” he said.
A short time later, the RCMP had a suspect in custody.
Savinkoff says they are glad they found him quickly due to the numerous concerned citizens calling about the Mustang on Drayton Valley streets.
“When you’re talking about dangerous driving through a community, especially when you’re worried about pedestrians and people just out enjoying their day, and somebody who’s inexperienced driving fast for no particular reason and just not stopping. You know the dangers presented are extreme,” he said.
Savinkoff says the 15-year-old didn’t have any licence to drive. But that’s the least of his concerns.
“Right now, he’s got at least three charges pending against him which include theft of a motor vehicle, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, and flight from police,” he said.