GARDINER -- A teenager is facing several charges after reportedly leading police on a chase Tuesday evening.

The 16-year-old male, whose name was withheld due to his age, was charged with eluding an officer, failure to stop for an officer, driving to endanger, theft, operating after suspension and unauthorized use of property.

Police began looking for the teen shortly after 9 p.m. when he left without paying for gasoline at the Big Apple on Brunswick Avenue, Gardiner Police Chief James Toman said.

Officer Michael Durham later spotted the pickup the teen was driving on Brunswick Avenue and tried to pull him over. The teen did not stop and the chase continued, at times reaching speeds of 15 mph over the speed limit, Toman said. The pursuit ended when the truck crashed into a guardrail as the driver tried to turn onto Interstate 95.

The teen driver, who was alone in the vehicle, was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta with minor injuries before being turned over to the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office, Toman said.

The theft charge is connected to the gasoline the teen allegedly stole. Police charged the teen with unauthorized use of property because he did not own the pickup he was driving, Toman said.