8-Year-Old Boy Found Wandering Along Busy Detroit Freeway After Teacher Told Him To Walk Home
DETROIT (WWJ) - Authorities say an 8-year-old boy was found walking alone on the shoulder of a busy Detroit freeway after his teacher told him to go home because a taxi-cab had failed to pick the boy up from school.
Michigan State Police say troopers were dispatched to westbound I-96 near Grand Boulevard around 5 p.m. Tuesday after receiving multiple reports of a child walking on the right shoulder of the freeway.
Troopers arrived on the scene and located the boy, but he was scared and did not want to get into the patrol car. Eventually, the troopers were able to gain the boy's trust and convinced him to let them walk along with him.
"It was soon learned that the child was a lot further from home than he thought, and he decided to get into a patrol car for a ride home," police said in a statement.
When troopers arrived at the boy's home, Detroit Public Schools police and the child's grandmother were standing outside. The grandmother told police that the boy has special needs and usually takes a cab to and from school. On Tuesday, his normal cab driver was not there to pick him up from school and, according to the child, his teacher told him to walk home.
Michigan State Police say the case has been turned over to the DPS police for a follow-up investigation.
