FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ohio — A 15-year-old was charged after stealing and crashing a Kia in west Franklin County on Saturday.
The crash happened around 1:30 p.m. in the area of Hilliard-Rome and Beacon Hill roads in Prairie Township. The teenager, who was traveling with three other juveniles, ran a stop sign and crashed into a Honda Civic.
The driver of the Honda was taken to a hospital where they remain in critical condition. The four juveniles were taken to another hospital and their conditions were described as stable. The driver was charged with receiving stolen property.
Hannah Bourekas said her neighbor’s ring camera captured video of the suspects pulling up in front of their home and stealing their car Saturday morning. She said later that morning, they noticed the suspects driving through past their home again, and her husband decided to follow them.
"He says that once they realized on Frost [Avenue] that they're being chased, that they start sporadically like swerving everywhere and just driving completely unsafe,” Bourekas said.
Bourekas said her husband then stopped following them and contacted police, who were unable to locate the car.
Later that afternoon, police caught the suspects after they crashed the vehicle. Bourekas said she was in the right place at the right time.
"I'm facing the accident and I'm like, that's my car, that's my car,” Bourekas said.
Police at the scene told Bourekas she wasn’t allowed to access her car as they investigated the crash.
"They had said they threw your son's car seat out anyways, just on the side of the road, his winter coat, all my stuff,” Bourekas said.
Bourekas said they had just bought their Kia last month, and they now have to wait for it to be released by police following their investigation. Bourekas said she’s more concerned about the driver who was injured.
"Hopefully the outcome of it is positive in the end for us, but I'm not even worried about that at this point, I just want that family to be OK,” Bourekas said.
Earlier this month, 10TV spoke with Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther about the rise in car thefts in the city.
"Young people are committing crimes today that they were not, and certainly not in the numbers they were five years ago, so we have to change the way that we're dealing with these issues,” Ginther said.
Across Franklin County, more than 1,100 juveniles were charged with stolen car cases between January of 2021 and July of 2023.
Mayor Ginther said the rise in juvenile crime in the city is impacting morale among officers.
"Our officers are working hard to get dangerous kids that are doing dangerous things off the street and oftentimes those kids are being then back to their homes and neighborhoods before the officer’s back on the street,” Ginther said.
Ginther added more should be done to work together with the legal system in stopping these crimes among kids from occurring.
"The only way to protect these kids and to protect the community is to get them off the street,” Ginther said.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the sheriff's office.