OCEAN CITY — A juvenile was arrested last weekend after allegedly stealing a vehicle a vehicle in Berlin, joyriding around the region and doing doughnuts in the downtown area before crashing on Main Street.
Around 3 a.m. last Sunday, a Berlin Police Department officer began investigating an undetermined noise in the area of Tripoli and Church Streets. The officer reportedly observed a vehicle doing doughnuts in the travel portion of the roadway with a damaged rear tire.
The officer attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle accelerated away, running through several stop signs, according to police reports. The vehicle reportedly almost collided with a second Berlin Police vehicle and continued to disregard sirens and emergency lights. The vehicle briefly left the roadway and destroyed a street light on Main Street near the Stevenson Church, according to police reports.
The vehicle re-entered Main Street briefly before jumping the curb and coming to rest in a yard. The driver, a 16-year-old juvenile who allegedly appeared to be intoxicated, was not injured and was taken into custody without further incident.
The investigation revealed the vehicle had been stolen from a residence on Old Ocean City Boulevard. The owner of the vehicle reportedly had no relationship or no knowledge of the suspect. The suspect was charged with motor vehicle theft, driving while intoxicated, fleeing and eluding, reckless driving, negligent driving, driving without a license, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage and rogue and vagabond.
The charges were forwarded to the Department of Juvenile Justice, which later released the suspect to a parent. After the incident, around 10:50 a.m. on Sunday, Berlin Police learned the Maryland State Police were investigating property damage by a vehicle on Route 113. Maryland State Police investigated damage to two separate fields, a utility box and other landscape at the residence on Route 113.
The teen was not believed to be local and was staying in a rental property with his family near where the vehicle was stolen in Berlin.
Anyone with further information about the incident, or feels as though they might have damage from the incident, is urged to contact the Berlin Police Department at 410-641-1333.
