Two Ohio teenagers are accused of turning a confiscated cellphone dispute into a 100 miles per hour highway pursuit that stretched from a group home to a violent crash. Investigators say the girls, ages 13 and 15, slipped out of their supervised residence, took a staff member’s car, and then refused to stop for police as cruisers tried to contain the speeding vehicle across northwest Ohio. The chase, which authorities say topped 100 miles per hour, ended only when the car slammed into a concrete barrier, sending both teens to a hospital and raising urgent questions about youth supervision and high-speed pursuits.
What began as a routine disciplinary step inside a group home, the removal of cellphones, escalated into a multi-jurisdiction incident that involved Bowling Green police, Perrysburg officers, and state investigators. The case has drawn attention not only because of the dramatic dashcam footage and the driver’s age, but also because it exposes the fragile line between adolescent impulsiveness and life-threatening criminal behavior on public roads.
The dispute inside the group home
According to investigators, the chain of events started inside a group home that houses teenagers from the Dayton area who have been placed there for supervision and support. Police reports indicate that a caregiver at the house confiscated the girls’ phones as a disciplinary measure, a step that appears to have triggered a sharp emotional reaction from the 13-year-old and 15-year-old residents. Law enforcement officials, including Investigator Ryan Tackett, have said that as far as they can gather from the report, the caregiver’s decision to take away the cellphones was the immediate spark for what followed, turning a common point of tension in youth care settings into the prelude to a felony-level incident.
Instead of accepting the restriction, the teens are accused of slipping away from staff oversight and targeting a vehicle parked at the home. Police say the car belonged to a group home employee and was taken without permission, effectively transforming a house-rule dispute into an alleged auto theft. Reports describe the pair as leaving the property and heading north from the Dayton region toward Bowling Green, a college town along Interstate 75, with no license, no legal authorization to drive, and no apparent appreciation for the risks that would soon involve multiple agencies and high-speed maneuvers on a busy highway.
From stolen car to 100 miles per hour pursuit
Authorities in Bowling Green, Ohio, say they first encountered the stolen vehicle after it had already traveled a significant distance from the group home. Police dashcam video, described in multiple reports, shows officers attempting a traffic stop once they identified the car as stolen and saw that it was being driven erratically. Instead of pulling over, the driver, whom police identify as the 13-year-old girl, allegedly accelerated away, forcing officers to initiate a pursuit. Investigators state that during the chase the car reached a speed of 100 miles per hour, an extraordinary figure given both the driver’s age and the typical traffic conditions along that stretch of roadway…