Three teens arrested after high speed chase

Three eastern Iowa teens face numerous charges after leading police on a high-speed chase. It started around one this morning when an Independence police officer notice a car driving erratically. He tried to stop the car and pursued it as the driver got onto Highway 20 and headed to Waterloo. The car was eventually stopped in Waterloo when officers employed “stop sticks” to damage its tires. The three teens were captured after a foot chase. They identified as 17-year-old Eric Simons of Independence, 15-year-old Joshua Winter of Mt. Pleasant, and 15-year-old Erica Wiles of Cedar Rapids. Police say the three had run away from a Cedar Rapids detention facility and stolen a car from a nearby home. All three were charged with second-degree theft. Wiles and Simons were charged with interference with official acts, and Simons was charged with eluding officers and nine traffic violations. All three were taken to a Waterloo detention facility.