Police said that a 19-year-old Modesto teen filed a false report about his pickup being carjacked to cover for the fact that he crashed it in Riverpark Park on Dec. 19.

Michael Lowry was booked for making a false police report, said Ceres Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jose Berber.

Police received calls at 3:26 p.m. about a black Ford Ranger rolled over inside the park. No occupants could be found. Within minutes, a hysterical Lowry was on the phone with dispatchers to falsely report his Ford had been carjacked at the Chevron gas station at Hatch and Herndon roads. He claimed the suspect was a dark-complected six-foot-tall Hispanic or Samoan. Lowry told dispatchers he was on foot on Payne Avenue. Officers found Lowry and the truck which were several blocks apart. As police questioned Lowry he was tearful, crying that he was not familiar to the area and was victimized at the gas station. He could not explain why he didn't call sooner; why he walked east a few miles away from the gas station to a location on Payne Avenue just a few blocks away from his upside-down truck.

Lowry then confessed he was spinning donuts in the park with a friend when he lost control in the dirt and flipped. Lowry said he and his friend ran away in opposite directions. Lowry said he made the false report to avoid getting into trouble.