13-year-old boy sets off police chase in stepfather's SUV

Berlin: A 13-year-old boy driving his stepfather's SUV set off a chase through the German city of Hannover that ended with the teenager driving into a patrol car, police said Saturday.

Officers were alerted late Friday evening to a car with what appeared to be a very young driver and its lights switched off. A patrol car located the SUV, but its driver ignored signals for him to stop and headed toward the city center.

Several more police cars with flashing lights set off in pursuit of the Suzuki SUV, which tried to evade them by turning onto a tram track. A patrol car blocked the track, but the young driver didn't stop and collided with it. The 13-year-old and a passenger in the patrol car were slightly hurt.

Police said there was no indication that the boy was intoxicated. He was taken to a hospital for observation and his family informed. Under German law, children under 14 can't be held criminally responsible.

In a separate case, an 8-year-old boy in western Germany was put into psychological counseling after taking his mother's car for a joyride for a second time this week.