A 14-year-old Santa Fe girl who stole her mother's car and led police on a chase is well on her way to earning a two-year commitment to the Children, Youth and Families Department, a probation officer said Tuesday.

In the last year, Karen Flores has repeatedly run away from home and used alcohol and drugs, and she continues to associate with gang members, said juvenile probation officer Lisa Rivera. The girl also refuses to behave herself in the Santa Fe County juvenile jail, Rivera said.

"To be frank, we are considering a two-year commitment for Karen," Rivera told state District Judge Michael Vigil. "It is in the best interest to keep her safe."

The 20-minute chase during rush hour Friday — during which Flores, at one point, drove the wrong way on N.M. 599 and reached speeds of up to 110 mph — was just Flores' latest confrontation with law enforcement. She'd only been released from the juvenile jail the day before the chase on house arrest after running away from home between March 5 and 10. When she returned, she admitted to using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine, according to court documents.

Flores received a year probation in August after she stole her mother's credit card and charged $400, court documents state. For that offense, she was placed on probation for a year by then-Children's Court Judge Barbara Vigil, court documents say.

A month later, in September, she didn't come home on five different nights. Santa Fe police officers discovered her "highly intoxicated" away from home on Sept. 27. The next day, she cut off her GPS monitor, stole her mother's cell phone and fled to El Paso, according to court documents.

Brooke Gamble, Flores' lawyer, had a hard time defending her client's latest actions Tuesday.

"Karen knows I don't have much of an argument to ask for her release," Gamble said.

District Judge Michael Vigil, who now handles the Children's Court docket, didn't hesitate before ordering Flores back to the juvenile jail.

"This whole incident was incredibly frightening," Vigil said. "It's just incredible nobody got hurt."

The chase on Friday began about 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot of McDonald's, 1007 S. St. Francis Drive. Flores led officers through the Kmart shopping center parking lot on St. Michael's Drive, then through the Bellamah neighborhood, along Rodeo Road, across Cerrillos Road and west on Airport Road to N.M. 599.

She crossed over the N.M. 599 median, drove south in the highway's northbound lanes before turning north on to the Interstate 25 West Frontage Road. Near Mutt Nelson Road, a spike strip laid by police flattened one of the tires on the Chevrolet Blazer, which finally stopped near the intersection of Cerrillos and Beckner roads. Two other teen girls were in the car with Flores at the time.

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.