9-year-old student takes mother's car for morning drive in central city

By Park Sae-jin Posted : July 11, 2018, 15:12 Updated : July 11, 2018, 15:12

Cars lie damaged by a 9-year-old boy who drove his mother's car at a parking lot located in the central city of Daejeon. [Daejeon Metropolitan Police Station]



SEOUL --  A nine-year-old boy, whose identity was kept hidden by police, was caught by police at an apartment parking lot after returning from a morning drive using his mother's car.

The rare incident took place in the central city of Daejeon on Wednesday morning, when the boy was at home during his summer holiday. According to the police, the third-grade primary school student took the key for his mother's compact sedan and drove it to a district office nearby and returned home.

The little one's morning drive route covered about 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) long and he crashed into 10 cars which were parked at various places during the deviation from his ordinary school life. Luckily, the boy was unhurt.

The boy's mother found out her son and car keys were missing just after he had left and reported to police. When the police caught him in the parking lot of his apartment, the little driver told the authorities that he learned how to drive by playing computer games.

Because he is under 10 years of age, he is not to be punished by law. However, he and his parents should pay for damages he made, a police official told reporters.

 
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