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Parents still amazed erratic driver didn’t hit kids in Syracuse park

Posted at 9:55 PM, Jun 02, 2014
and last updated 2014-06-02 23:56:25-04

SYRACUSE, Utah -- It's the video seen by millions. A 14-year-old driving a stolen car speeds across a park in Syracuse, narrowly missing several children.

The dramatic end is caught on tape. It was stopped by a parent, behind the wheel of a pickup truck. The children, playing in the grass had no idea what was barreling towards them: a 3,000 pound weapon, with a joyriding teen behind the wheel.

"Yu guys watch out... get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

A mother, terrified by what she's witnessing, screams for the children in the path of a speeding white car to run.

"My heart dropped, I honestly thought one of those kids is going to die," said Brandy Rowley, a woman who witnessed everything Saturday.

The driver barely missed the kids.

"There were probably like 15 kids present at the park at the time. Three of them almost got hit," Brandy Rowley said.

Incredibly no one got hit or hurt. The teenage driver tried to outrun police when was eventually stopped after a parent took matters into his own hands and rammed his big pick-up truck into the front of the vehicle.

The woman behind the cell phone video is his wife.

"A 14-year-old juvenile from Sunset took his grandfather's vehicle and it came over the radio," said Officer Erin Behm with the Syracuse Police Department.

The car came from Duschene County. Syracuse Police got a call after someone spotted the stolen vehicle.

Officers tried stopping the teen driver at 1290 South and 10th West, but called off the case after he weaved in and out of residential neighborhoods. The teen, according to police was edging closer to Founders Park, which is where everything ultimately ended at 1500 South and Vandury Drive.

"I think it's crazy," said Liz Murphy, a parent at the park Monday evening.

Monday, dozens of children played sports. They were unaware of the events that unfolded Saturday, but it was still the talk of the park among parents.

"I just can't imagine. There were still a lot of kids if you watch the video. I can't believe how many children were there and as fast as he ripped through here that nobody was even close to getting hit was amazing," said Kyle Hall, a parent at the park.

The 14-year-old was arrested and taken to a juvenile detention facility. No word on what charges he will face.

His name was not released.