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ifcar


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4-Year-Old Mich. Boy Drives Mother's Car


SAND LAKE, Mich. - A boy drove his mother's car to a video store in the middle of the night, police said — and he's all of 4 years old.

Even though he was unable to reach the accelerator, the boy managed to put the car in gear and the idling engine provided enough power to take him slowly to the store, a quarter-mile from his home, about 1:30 a.m. Friday, Police Chief Doug Heugel said. Finding the store closed, the youngster began a slow trip home.

Weaving and with its headlights off, the car got the attention of police Sgt. Jay Osga, who initially thought he was following a driverless car that had taken off after being left running at a gas pump.

The car turned into the boy's apartment complex and struck two parked cars, then backed up and struck Osga's police car.

That's when Osga discovered the boy inside.

"He knew how to go from forward to reverse," Osga said Monday. "The mother said she taught him how to drive by letting him sit on her lap and steer."

No charges will be filed against the boy or his mother, Heugel said.

"He's 4 years old. His mom didn't even know he was up," Heugel told The Grand Rapids Press. "I don't think he even realizes what he did."

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Kevin


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lol, if he couldn't reach the acclerator, how did he get into reverse and stop?  Surely he didn't use the E-brake, he could have just hit something to stop though I guess.



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thewizard16


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quote:
Originally posted by: Kevin
"lol, if he couldn't reach the acclerator, how did he get into reverse and stop?  Surely he didn't use the E-brake, he could have just hit something to stop though I guess."

I wondered that too. You CAN'T change gears on our cars without hitting the brake unless you open the tab and hit the shift lock override button, something I seriously doubt a 4-year old would think to do. At any rate, I wonder what kindof car it was, for him to be able to do that.

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ifcar


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quote:
Originally posted by: thewizard16
"
I wondered that too. You CAN'T change gears on our cars without hitting the brake unless you open the tab and hit the shift lock override button, something I seriously doubt a 4-year old would think to do. At any rate, I wonder what kindof car it was, for him to be able to do that."


It looked like an old Geo Prizm hatch or similar, something old.

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thewizard16


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Originally posted by: ifcar
"

It looked like an old Geo Prizm hatch or similar, something old."

Oh, okay. And completely lacking in safety features. Good thing there was no late night semi driver flying through town, or there'd be a dead four year old.

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ifcar


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quote:
Originally posted by: thewizard16
"
Oh, okay. And completely lacking in safety features. Good thing there was no late night semi driver flying through town, or there'd be a dead four year old."


He'd be too small to be protected by an airbag (it would probably make things worse) and was probably not wearing a seatbelt. He'd have had a problem in an accident in any car.

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thewizard16


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Good point, but at least they wouldn't have had to use an X-ray to tell the difference between what was the kid and what was the car.

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