Erratic driver in high-speed police chase turns out to be boy, 10

FOSTORIA, Ohio -- An erratic, speeding driver who led an Ohio officer on a brief pursuit turned out to be a 10-year-old boy who took his parents’ car without permission and drove 11 miles to a nearby city to shop at a convenience store, police said. 

An officer in Fostoria, roughly 40 miles south of Toledo, tried to stop a driver who wasn’t using headlights and kept braking Sunday morning, and the vehicle took off at 70 miles per hour, CBS affiliate WTOL reported. The vehicle eventually struck a curb and stopped in a restaurant parking lot, where the officer was surprised to discover that the driver was a child. 

“It appears he wanted to go shopping,” Police Chief Keith Loreno told The Fostoria Review Times. 

No one was hurt, but police said the boy had nearly collided head-on with a tractor-trailer and jeopardized the safety of others in the area. 

“At one point, he far exceeded the speed limits of the city,” Loreno said. “Besides himself, he placed a lot of people in serious danger.” 

The boy, from the nearby town of Kansas, was taken into custody and charged with fleeing from a law enforcement officer. 

His parents haven’t been charged, but juvenile court and children’s services are reviewing the case, The Review Times reported. 

Loreno told WTOL-TV that the tale should be a reminder to parents to store their car keys somewhere safe, out of the reach of curious children. 

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