Borrowing a car usually involves asking permission, returning the keys, and ideally not driving through someone’s flowerbeds. A 19-year-old in North Carolina apparently skipped that chapter of the handbook on Sept. 24, kicking off a frantic, multi-terrain getaway that ended up to his knees in swamp muck.
The afternoon began on Pelican Walk when Pender County deputies and detectives tracked down a reported stolen vehicle. When confronted, the teenager offered the classic defense: he had merely borrowed it. Rather than sticking around to clear up the paperwork, he took off running on foot. In a confusing tactical pivot, he then doubled back, hopped right back into the stolen ride, and hit the gas.
The subsequent chase saw the vehicle touring residential yards and off-road terrain before coming to an abrupt halt near Ballast Point and Sloop Point roads, courtesy of a crash…