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Boy, 12, Leads OC Police On Wild, Fiery Car Chase

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO (CBSLA.com) — A 12-year-old boy led Orange County police on a wild car chase that ended in flames early Wednesday morning.

Sheriff's deputies saw someone driving erratically without their lights on around 1:15 a.m. on Del Obispo near Paseo Carolina in San Juan Capistrano, according to sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.

Amormino said officers thought the driver could possibly be intoxicated, so they attempted to pull the person over.

Police then began to pursue the boy through Dana Point because he didn't stop, Amormino said.

The chase ended in about 15 minutes, when the boy rammed his car into a tree.

The car caught fire and was completely engulfed in flames, but the child was able to escape before it erupted.

"He's very, very lucky he didn't die," Amormino said.

The boy was later released to his parents.

(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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