A 9-year-old boy behind the wheel of a car allegedly led police on a chase in California that ended near the child’s school, ABC7 reported.
The boy, who said he was on his way to school, surprised the officer in pursuit after his car came to a stop, according to ABC7.
“Just shock, several other officers showed up as well and it was kind of one of those ‘no one really believed it’ kind of things,” California Highway Patrol officer Terry Dunn said. “So, several other officers showed up to the scene just to see in fact that it was a 9-year-old driving the vehicle.”
Dunn told ABC7 that when he noticed a car stopped in the middle of an intersection, he used his patrol car’s PA system to tell the driver to move, ABC7 reported. (RELATED: Video Shows British Police Constable Borrowing Boy’s Bike To Pursue Suspect)
A California police officer got a shocking surprise when the car he was chasing came to a stop and found a nine-year-old boy behind the wheel. https://t.co/TTckPbZWmy https://t.co/TTckPbZWmy
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) March 29, 2024
The boy then allegedly drove off through the intersection and through a gas station parking lot before ending up in a dirt lot and backing into Dunn’s patrol car, according to ABC7.
“A few seconds later, I did notice a little head bobbin inside – unusual,” Dunn told ABC7. “I exited my patrol vehicle, made an approach, and as I was approaching, I could see a kid which turned out to be a 9-year-old child sticking his head out saying, ‘I’m sorry, I was trying to get to school.'”
It turned out that the dirt lot where the boy stopped was right next to his school, the outlet reported.
“At that point, we’re trying to identify if that was the school he was actually heading to. We contacted the principal, we contacted the parent, and everyone showed up to the scene,” Dunn said.
Although nobody was hurt, Dunn said the incident should be a reminder to keep car keys away from children, according to ABC7.
“Hopefully a lot of other people take this to heart and learn from it,” he said. “So, hopefully this doesn’t happen again in the future. Just maybe talk to your children about the dangers of driving a vehicle and what could possibly happen.”
In the end, the boy made it to school, Dunn told ABC7.