A 9-year-old boy in California took the keys to the family car and decided to drive himself to school. After leading a police officer on a brief chase, he ended up hitting his patrol car.
According to a Facebook post from the California Highway Patrol in Oroville, a police officer with the highway patrol unit saw a gray Volkswagen stopped in the
middle of an intersection on March 27 at around 9:20 a.m. After the officer instructed the driver to move, the driver did just that and sped off. The officer pursued the vehicle and caught up with the Volkswagen in a parking lot near Plumas Avenue Elementary School.After the driver stopped the vehicle, he reversed into the patrol car, causing minor damage to it.
When the police officer saw who was driving, he was shocked to see a 9-year-old boy at the wheel.
According to CBS News Sacramento, it was CHP Oroville Officer Terry Dunn who followed the vehicle. He admitted that he couldn’t see the driver. “Startled, I didn’t know at that point what was going to happen,” said Dunn.
Once he did see the driver, the 9-year-old stuck his head out the window and said, “Sorry! I’m just trying to get to school.”
Luckily, no one was injured, though the boy’s grandmother said she went into a panic when she realized he was no longer in the house. She said that his mother was in the bathroom and he was in the living room. When she came out of the bathroom, he wasn’t there, and her keys and car were missing.
“By the grace of God, [Dunn] came up to the intersection and saw my grandson in the middle of the intersection,” the boy’s grandmother expressed to CBS News Sacramento.
Officer Dunn contacted the boy’s mother and the proper authorities and allowed the boy to go to school.