A 7-year-old boy in Clearfield, Utah, took his 5-year-old sister along for a joyride in their mother’s car, driving to nearby Ogden before hitting a parking strip and coming to a stop.
The excursion started Sunday morning when the boy, unnamed by authorities, decided he wanted to go to McDonald’s. His mother, Whitney Bush, was awoken by the Clearfield Police Department and informed that two of her kids had absconded with her car.
“I don’t think anybody wakes up in the morning or goes through their day thinking their 7-year-old is going to play ‘Grand Theft Auto’ with their vehicle,” Ms. Bush told Salt Lake City’s KTVX.
The car went through multiple jurisdictions and reached Ogden before the Ogden Police Department got word about a reckless driver who appeared underage going in and out of lanes. Police attempted a traffic stop but didn’t chase the car when the boy at the wheel refused to yield.
Due to “the totality of circumstances, including the suspected age of the driver and the heightened risk to public safety, officers deactivated their emergency equipment and chose not to pursue,” Ogden police said in a release, according to KSL-TV.
The car eventually stopped when it hit the parking strip, with both children inside uninjured and no reports of others being injured as a result of the joyride. The car suffered exterior damage from the parking strip and from a possible collision with another car in Ogden.
The driver of that second car alleged that, after being hit, the boy and girl exited their car and flipped him the bird, Ms. Bush told KTVX. The boy is not being criminally charged due to his age, though he might have a problem at home.
“I’m not proud of him by any means. He’s in a world of trouble. He’s probably grounded for the rest of his life,” Ms. Bush said, qualifying that it was impressive that he managed to drive as far and as long as he did without getting into any other collisions.
