2 girls on joyride OK after SUV flips

Two West Ashley sisters, ages 11 and 7, escaped serious injuries early Saturday when a sport utility vehicle driven by the 11-year-old ran off the road and flipped onto its side, police said.

The girls took their parents' SUV from their Ponderosa Drive home about 3 a.m., Charleston police spokesman Charles Francis said Monday.

A few minutes later, a clerk at a convenience store on Savannah Highway at Savage Road called police to report that an SUV had struck a gas pump, Francis said. The store is more than three miles from the children's home.

Police were on the lookout for the vehicle when a motorist called 911 about 7:30 a.m. to report a single- vehicle wreck on Sanders Road off Bees Ferry Road, Francis said.

The vehicle had been driven off the roadway and onto its side, according to an accident report.

The girls, whose names were withheld because of their ages, were found inside the SUV with scrapes and bruises. The location is almost four miles from the convenience store.

The sisters were taken to a hospital for treatment, Francis said. Their injuries were not life-threatening.

Police cited the 11-year-old for careless driving and driving without a driver's license. She was released into the custody of her parents.

Reach David W. MacDougall at 937-5655.