12-year-old joyriders in car crash after chase

A SENIOR garda said it was a miracle that nobody was seriously injured or killed when three 12-year-old boys in a Mazda were chased at high speed by patrol cars before crashing into another vehicle.

The boys were spotted by gardaí at 3am yesterday driving just yards from the Garda Southern Region headquarters in Anglesea Street, Cork. A patrol car gave chase.

The Mazda, which wasn’t reported stolen, sped onto George’s Quay and Sullivan’s Quay before travelling the wrong way up South Main Street.

A second patrol car joined in the pursuit, but moments later the young driver of the Mazda lost control of the vehicle and it ploughed into a Ford car in Washington Street.

“Both vehicles were extensively damaged. The driver of the Ford, who was the only person in that vehicle, was taken to hospital as a precaution. He was released shortly afterwards. This had the potential to be a very serious incident. It is very fortunate that somebody wasn’t seriously injured or killed,” the garda spokesman said.

None of the three boys were injured, but they were arrested at the scene.

Gardaí traced the boys’ parents who picked them up a few hours later.

The spokesman said gardaí were trying to ascertain if the youngsters, from a town in west Waterford, had fallen foul of the law before.

“If they haven’t it is likely they will be cautioned under the Juvenile Diversion Programme. That is usually the case for minors who’ve committed a first offence,” the spokesman said.