A 15-year-old from Duplin County led Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office deputies on a high-speed chase that wound from N.C. 11 in Pink Hill onto U.S. 70 West and ended in Barnet Park in Kinston on Thursday.

The trip for the youngster started at a trash dump in Duplin County, when the young male jumped in a vehicle where an elderly lady was dropping off her trash, according to Pink Hill Police Department Chief Michael Hoffman.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., members of the LCSO’s Crash Reduction Team (CRT) observed the vehicle driving at a high rate of speed, traveling north on N.C. 11 south of Kinston. The CRT units attempted to stop the vehicle, but he refused.

The deputies pursued the vehicle from N.C. 11 onto westbound U.S. 70. The juvenile made a U-turn, traveled east on U.S. 70 to Hill Farm Road, then onto Banks School Road. The chase ended at Barnet Park in Kinston.

The juvenile was taken into custody without further incident. He was transported to Duplin County, where he was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle. The LCSO charged him with felony speeding to elude arrest and several other traffic violations on juvenile petitions.

A secure custody order was issued in Duplin County and he was placed in the county’s juvenile detention center.