MOUNT VERNON – The teenage driver who allegedly stole a truck and drove it through the front of a Mount Vernon business on Christmas Eve will soon learn what charges the Knox County prosecutor will bring in the case.
Knox County Deputy Sheriff Matt White stopped a Dodge Dakota driven by a 16-year-old Danville youth at 2:55 a.m. on Dec. 24 for a turn signal violation in Mount Vernon. After the vehicles stopped on North Gay Street at East Sugar Street, the suspect drove off as White approached it.
White pursued the Dakota north on North Gay Street and then onto Wooster Road. Speeds in the short chase approached 75 mph, an Ohio State Patrol trooper’s report said. The driver, accompanied by two other teenagers, attempted to turn onto McGibney Road but lost control, striking a curb and then the Professional Pet Grooming business building at the Wooster-McGibney intersection.
The driver told police after getting pulled over he looked down and “there was a ton of alcohol. So I punched it and went down a side road to the road we crashed on,” he said in a voluntary statement to Ohio State Trooper C. Riley.
The vehicle sustained damage in all areas, with a bent frame and a completely destroyed front end, Riley’s report said.
The Professional Pet Grooming building had its southwest corner and west side structural walls destroyed as the Dakota came to rest partially inside the building. Business owner David Ulery-Hart said it caused $30,000 to $40,000 in damages. He plans to repair, but his May opening date is in jeopardy.
Results of a portable breath test of the driver showed no blood alcohol content, according to the OSHP report.
The juvenile driver did not have a driver’s license and did not have permission to drive his father’s vehicle. He was cited for failure to control and being a juvenile traffic offender.
The Knox County Prosecutor Office’s Juvenile Division was waiting for police reports to determine what charges might be considered in the case.
Despite the accident’s severity, only one passenger reported injuries. He was taken to Knox Community Hospital with a possible broken nose. The other passenger and the driver said they were uninjured.
The three juveniles were released to their parents’ custody that night.
The Knox County Sheriff's Office was the lead investigating agency.
