Aurora police say a 9-year-old boy was driving a stolen vehicle that crashed Saturday afternoon on Peoria Street near 11th Street. Officers reported that the child was injured and taken to a hospital, and that two other people who fled the wreck on foot were later taken into custody.
What police say
According to CBS News Colorado, the Aurora Police Department said the boy was heading south on Peoria Street while officers were in pursuit of the stolen vehicle. Police told the outlet that the driver tried to make an eastbound turn onto 11th Street and the car hit a tree.
Investigators told CBS that four people were inside the vehicle at the time of the crash. Two of them allegedly tried to run off and were caught a short distance away, police said. Officers have not released the ages of those taken into custody.
Policy and police tech
The chase unfolded under a relatively new Aurora policy that, as of March 2025, allows officers to pursue in certain stolen-vehicle and suspected DUI cases, as reported by CPR News. Before that update, the department had tighter limits on when officers could engage in vehicle pursuits.
Aurora police also lean on a high-tech Real Time Information Center to track so-called hotlisted vehicles. The system, described by Sentinel Colorado, pulls together feeds from city cameras, Flock license plate readers and drone resources to help officers locate suspected stolen cars and other priority targets.
Legal implications
Authorities have not yet announced any formal charges in connection with the crash. Under Colorado law, trying to outrun or evade police can be pursued under statutes such as CRS 42-4-1413, which covers eluding or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer. When a child is placed in a dangerous situation, prosecutors may also look at family-relations offenses in Title 18, including those outlined in CRS Title 18, Article 6…