BALTIMORE — Two children are facing charges after they stole a car from an auto body shop in West Baltimore on Thursday.
Around 9:30 a.m., those children — ages 12 and 13 — entered the yard of an auto body shop, on South Warwick Avenue, to steal a vehicle. They worked together to steal a car and escape.
Police told WMAR-2 News they took the car on a joyride, hit multiple cars before they crashed in Baltimore County.
A mechanic working on a vehicle at the time saw what was happening and called police.
The children crashed into Marci Yankelov’s car.
The crash happened around 11 a.m. on West Franklin Street and North Calhoun.
MORE: Two boys in custody in connection to vehicle theft, dangerous joyride
Yankelov told WMAR-2 News Ray Strickland she was angry when her car was struck. Then, she found out two children were behind the wheel.
“It didn’t look like it was stopping, it didn’t look like it was stopping and it didn’t stop,” Yankelov said.
Yankelov’s car was completely damaged when two children driving a stolen car ran into her at an intersection.
“I thought it was backing up to stop to see if I was OK,” Yankelov said. “It backed up, hit another car backing up and sped off.”
The impact of the crash knocked off the stolen car’s fender
“I think the thing that’s worse about it is that someone can cause harm and just keep going,” Yankelov said.
But the children’s joyride came to an end a few miles outside of the city in Baltimore County where they crashed.
The two were then taken into custody.
Police said they broke into the auto body shop in the 100 block of South Warwick Avenue, broke out the car’s window and drove away. One kid got into the driver's seat while the other opened the gate,
The owner of the auto body shop said this was the first time this happened in 30 years of owning the business.
“There’s something serious going on there that needs to be addressed,” the auto body shop owner said.
Yankelov said she has empathy for the kids and hopes they get the help they need.
“The system is somehow failing,” Yankelov said. “It’s failing these communities. It’s failing to provide resources to these communities.”
Police said the children were taken to the hospital after the crash to be evaluated.
They are facing auto theft charges and traffic related offenses.
