Accused carjacking teen charged after alleged Gold Coast prison escape

A teenage boy accused of carjacking has been charged after he escaped from police custody on the Gold Coast.

Police allege the 15-year-old escaped the Southport Watchhouse yesterday by switching places with another person who was due for release.

The boy was allowed through the complex door and into a walkway leading to Scarborough Street when officers realised the error, police said.

Police told the teen to stop, but he allegedly jumped over a locked gate and fled on foot.

The boy and his lawyer returned to the watchhouse about 11.45am today, police said in a statement.

He has been charged with escaping lawful custody and stealing, and will be dealt with under the Youth Justice Act.

On Thursday, the boy and a 15-year-old girl allegedly pulled a knife on a 24-year-old woman and demanded her car after she offered them a lift from Harbour Town shopping centre.

The panicked driver drove away and hit the 15-year-old girl, who remains in a critical condition in hospital.