This is one way to get where you’re going on time. A nine-year-old boy decided to take his mother’s car for a joy ride to school and ended up in a chase with police officers.
California Highway Patrol wrote on Facebook that a nine-year-old boy took his mom’s car with the intention of driving to school. The incident occurred on March 27, 2024, at around 9:20 a.m. at the intersection of Grand Avenue and 4th Street in Oroville, California.
A CHP officer spotted a gray Volkswagen sedan stopped oddly in the middle of the intersection. When the officer told the driver to move, the car sped off, “leading to a short and erratic chase.”
According to the CHP, the pursuit ended in a dirt parking lot near Plumas Avenue Elementary School. Both the CHP car and the Volkswagen suffered minor damage but fortunately, no one was hurt.
The officer was shocked to see a “wide-eyed 9-year-old child,” who had taken his mother’s car with the intention of driving himself to school. The boy was “safely sent to school” after authorities were alerted and the situation was documented.
Hundreds of people commented on CHP’s post, including Kimberly Slack, who said she was the boy’s grandmother. She wrote that her grandson took the car while his mother was in the bathroom. “He took it upon himself to just take the car,” Slack wrote.
As soon as her daughter realized what happened, Slack said she called 911. “We realize this could have ended so badly but we thank God he or no one was hurt,” Slack said.