HPD: Teen steals police cruiser in northwest Houston, crashes on joyride

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Police say a teenager took one of their cruisers on a joyride through northwest Houston and ended up crashing the vehicle.

It happened last night while Houston police were working an accident on U.S. 290 and Tidwell.

A 15-year-old boy, police say, jumped into the cruiser and took off. He cruised around for about 20 minutes until he crashed the cruiser into a pole at West Little York near Antoine.

The teen wasn't hurt and tried to run off after the accident. But he was arrested, and had the chance to ride in another cop car -- this time in the back seat while he was transported to a juvenile detention facility.

The police cruiser sustained major damage in the crash.