CLAREMONT, N.H. -- Police say a teenager was driving drunk and led them on a chase Monday night through downtown Claremont.

They say Jeffrey Mathews, 18, started out the night by stealing beer. He ended it Tuesday morning in jail.

Police spotted a Nissan Sentra as it left Chestnut Street, and they say the tires squealed as the driver took the turn too fast.

The officer turned on the blue lights, but the vehicle did not stop.

Police followed the driver down Washington Street as his speed reached 60 mph, but say they quickly got the situation under control.

"The entire sequence of events took about three minutes, so it was a very short period of time," said Chief Alexander Scott of Claremont police.

The chase ended at the corner of Winter and Washington streets, where police say Mathews was driving the wrong way down the road, ran a red light and hit a pickup truck.

The truck's two passengers suffered minor injuries. They were released from the hospital Monday night.

Police arrested Mathews, who they say he stole beer from a nearby Mini-Mart earlier in the night.

Mathews now faces DWI charges, theft and reckless conduct.

Mathews will appear in district court Wednesday morning.