FUKUOKA (TR) – Fukuoka Prefectural Police have arrested a high school boy for allegedly driving a taxi without a license after he stole it in Kitakyushu City, reports TV Asahi (Sept. 2).
At around 4:30 a.m. on August 31, the boy, 17, jumped in the cab at the office of a cab company in Moji Ward and sped off.
After driving for several minutes, he lost control of the vehicle on a curve, which went off the side of the road and into a ditch.
On Monday, police arrested the boy, who fled the scene after incident, on suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Act for driving without a license. “I wanted to drive a car,” the suspect told police in admitting to the allegations.
When the boy got into the taxi, the engine was running. After running the taxi in the ditch, located about 2 kilometers from the office, he fled.
The company later reported the taxi missing. The boy later became a person of interest after an examination of security camera footage taken by the taxi, which was later found abandoned.
Police are continuing the investigation on suspicion of theft.
