Yellowknife (Dec 15/04) - A Yellowknife teen who took a sport utility vehicle and drove it into a swamp has been ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and placed on probation for a year.

"(You) could have wiped out a whole family... because you wanted a thrill," said Judge Brian Bruser. He made the comment after the 15-year-old pleaded guilty to taking a car without consent and breach of an undertaking.

"This could be the stupidest thing you have ever done," Bruser continued.

The keys to the truck, a Ford Expedition, were stolen from the vehicle's owner on Oct. 16.

That same day they were passed on to the teen, who took the truck on a joyride down the Ingraham Trail. At one point the teen lost control of the vehicle, driving off the road before coming to rest in a marsh.

The $45,000 vehicle spent several hours in the swamp and was a write-off, Crown attorney Sandra Aitken told the court. It was the latest in a "rash" of vehicle thefts, she said.

In addition to the community service time and probation, Bruser barred the teen from driving for a year.

The youth had no previous criminal record.