Teen girl accused of stealing prison van

LYNWOOD, Ill., July 19 (UPI) -- A 13-year-old girl is facing criminal charges after allegedly taking off in a prison transport van while being returned from Indiana to Illinois, police said.

The Lynwood, Ill., teen was picked up by authorities after she ran away to Indiana with her boyfriend, Lynwood Police Sgt. Greg Szymanski said.

The boyfriend was taken into police custody in Indiana, Szymanski told the Chicago Sun-Times.

The runaway was in a juvenile detention center Friday after being caught in Chicago, police said.

Police said the girl was being taken to Lynwood from Parke County, Ind., when the driver lost his way and stopped to ask for directions.

While the driver was out of the vehicle, the handcuffed and shackled girl made her way into the driver's seat and drove off, Szymanski said.

She is facing charges of aggravated fleeing and eluding, and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, said Andy Conklin, a Cook County State's Attorney's Office spokesman.

She is expected appear in court Aug. 5, the newspaper said.