By Mark Price
The Macon Telegraph
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A street race came to an embarrassing end when the drivers realized too late that a deputy was watching, but that is not the most shocking part of the incident, Florida investigators say.
One of the drivers turned out to be just 12 years old, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office reported in a May 1 Facebook post.
The other driver was 17, the sheriff’s office said.
Their illegal competition was discovered around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, when a deputy saw two cars “side by side” and coming straight at him on a two-lane road in DeLand, officials said.
Both vehicles were halted, and the deputy was in the midst of handcuffing one driver when he learned the suspect had no license because he was 12.
Two more juveniles, both 16, were found in the same car, officials said.
Body camera video posted to Facebook shows the deputy paused to explain the situation to the 12-year-old’s exasperated mom, who suggested the boy needed to be slapped.
“I cannot slap them,” the deputy is heard saying. “That’s your child. Corporal punishment is completely legal.”
The boy, who lives in DeLand, was driving a car owned by the mom of one of his passengers, police said.
The 12-year-old boy was charged with having no driver’s license and racing on a roadway, and turned over to a parent, officials said.
The 17-year-old, also of DeLand, was charged with racing on a highway, officials said. He was driving his mother’s car, officials said.
When questioned, he admitted knowing his competitor attended a local middle school, the video shows.
“And you decide that it’s a good idea to race a middle schooler driving a car? He’s 12 years old,” the deputy noted. “Well, you’re getting arrested today.”
As for the passengers, both boys were charged with racing on a highway and knowingly riding as a passenger, officials said.
Details of how fast the drivers were going were not released. The road is through Daytona Park Estates, a residential community where the speed limit is 30 mph.
DeLand is about a 40-mile drive northeast from Orlando.
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