Girl, 11, charged with DUI after high-speed chase

[Guest]

ORANGE BEACH, Alabama (AP) -- Police who chased a car for miles along a highway at speeds up to 100 mph said the driver was drunk, hardly a rarity in this resort town. But there was more: When they looked inside the flipped vehicle with guns drawn, they found an 11-year-old girl at the wheel.

"You go up there thinking it's a felon you're dealing with," assistant police Chief Greg Duck said.

The girl, who was slightly injured in the crash, is now charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding, reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident. Duck said she sideswiped another vehicle during the roughly 8-mile chase.

The chase began around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday when a patrol officer near the Florida line saw the car speeding west along a beach highway, Duck said. When the officer flicked on his lights, the driver sped up. The girl rolled the car just inside the Gulf Shores city limit.

Duck said the girl, whose name was not released because of her age, told police she was on her way to pick up her sister at a concert.

Investigators found no alcohol in the car but believe the girl drank before getting behind the wheel of the car, which belongs to relatives.

Duck declined to release the girl's blood alcohol level but said a blood test at the hospital showed it was higher than .02, the legal limit for minors.

If I may ask.... How does this happen? Where are the parents? 10:30pm 11 years old, shouldnt she be in bed at that hour?

[Guest]

Hahaha. I used to live in Pensacola. This does not surprise me at all. Everything that you can think of that is wrong with the south is right there in that little slice of the country. The story i heard was that her mom was too drunk so she sent the drunk 11 yo to go pick up the drunk sister. If you saw the Nip/Tuck episodes with Rosie Odonnell, that is also a great representation of local "culture." If you couldn't tell, I hated it there.

here is the article from the local paper

Girl charged in DUI, chase

11-year-old driver from Perdido Key in 100-mph chase in Orange Beach

Associated Press

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — An 11-year-old Perdido Key girl has been charged with driving under the influence after she led Orange Beach police on a high-speed chase.

Greg Duck, Orange Beach assistant police chief, said the Tuesday night chase — which was caught on a dashboard camera in a police cruiser — started about 10:30 p.m. in Orange Beach near the Florida line. It ended just inside the Gulf Shores city limits when the girl crashed and rolled the Chevy Monte Carlo she was driving.

Duck said the chase began when a patrol officer saw the car speeding west along Alabama 182. When the officer flicked on his lights to pull the car over, it sped up.

Police said the car sideswiped another vehicle during the chase, which reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. Investigators said the girl was taken to South Baldwin Regional Medical Center. She was treated for minor injuries and released.

"She left the road here," Fred Lee, a witness, told WKRG Channel 5 in Mobile. "She went airborne (and) didn't come down till she hit that fire hydrant and knocked the two palms down and then came right back up against those two dead palms."

Lee watched the whole thing from his condominium across the street.

"Once the police jumped out with their weapons, they didn't know what they were up against, either," he said.

The girl's name was not released because of her age.

Duck said the girl told police she was on her way to pick up her sister at a concert in Orange Beach.

The case has been handed over to the Baldwin County Juvenile Court for prosecution.

Along with the DUI charge, the girl faces charges of speeding, leaving the scene of an accident and reckless endangerment, Duck said.

[SBVFD524 0]

WOW she must have wanted to do something fun

[Guest paramedico987]

Why, for the love of god, is there no mention of her being charged for driving without a licence? And why, for the love of god, is this considered such a minor offense that only a summons is issued to appear in court, while if I carry a firearm as guaranteed by the 2nd amendment without an uncontstitutional permit, would be arrested and sent to jail for 10 years of so?

I hope they throw the book at this little turd!

[JJB531 652]

Why, for the love of god, is there no mention of her being charged for driving without a licence? And why, for the love of god, is this considered such a minor offense that only a summons is issued to appear in court, while if I carry a firearm as guaranteed by the 2nd amendment without an uncontstitutional permit, would be arrested and sent to jail for 10 years of so?

I hope they throw the book at this little turd!

Driving without a license is a VTL traffic infraction in NYS... it's not a huge crime... it's a traffic ticket and that's it. I'm not sure if the law is any different in Alabama. A lot has to do with her age. If she was 21, and same scenario played out... I wouldn't be suprised if there was, at a minimum, bail set.

This scenario is no different than when an young juvenile walks into school with a loaded gun and shows it off to his/her friends... it gets referred to family court. But, if a 21 year old gets caught with a loaded gun, bail is set, the case is often tried in Federal Court, and it is a minimum one year detainment in a correctional facility with parole/probation upon release.

[Oswegowind 17]

This was in the weird but true section of the NYPost Today! That is great drinking and driving to go pick up her slut sister! Talk about amazing...could you imagine these cops faces...ah duh!

[RescueKujo 130]

If the story about her intoxicated mother sending her out, why isn't she (the mother) being charged with child endangerment? We always hear how children, especially preteens, aren't able to comprehend the consequences of what they are doing wrong. The adult is supposed to be responsible for the child's actions. Maybe CPS should be removing the children (no mention of the sister's age) from this home, even though the home life is oh so respectable