CARTERVILLE/JOHNSTON CITY – A 13-year-old juvenile was arrested Sunday after reportedly leading police in Williamson County on a high-speed chase that resulted in the child crashing into an embankment.

According to a press release from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department, deputies attempted to stop the vehicle at Illinois 13 and Division Street in Carterville at which time the vehicle fled reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph. The vehicle continued eastbound on Illinois 13, turned northbound onto the southbound I-57 exit ramp and traveled northbound in the southbound lane of I-57 into oncoming traffic for several miles before crossing into the northbound lane.

The vehicle exited I-57 at the Johnston City exit, failed to navigate the turn onto Broadway Boulevard, coming to rest at the bottom of the embankment on the northeast side of the interchange. The driver, a 13-year-old male runaway, exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended without further incident. The sheriff’s office says the vehicle was stolen out of Carbondale.

The juvenile driver is believed to be one of three runaway juveniles who ran away from a group home for vulnerable, at-risk youth based in Owensboro, KY. The driver was not injured but was treated at a local hospital out of an abundance of caution and is currently in custody in Williamson County for Aggravated Fleeing and Eluding, No Valid Driver’s License and Resisting a Peace Officer.

The sheriff’s office says this remains an ongoing investigation as law enforcement in Illinois and Kentucky work to determine the best course of action.