The driver behind the wheel of a car that led police on a miles-long chase in Indiana wasn’t a drunk person as police suspected — but a 7-year-old boy on a joyride, authorities said.
The boy’s wild ride began at about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, when cops spotted a 2008 Kia Rio driving in a parking lot in LaPorte about 30 miles west of South Bend without its headlights on, according to the South Bend Tribune.
LaPorte Police Capt. Adam Klimczak started following the car as it weaved in and out of lanes heading east, reaching speeds up to 40 mph before the officer activated his cruiser’s lights and sirens to pull the vehicle over.
The Rio then fishtailed on a state highway before spinning out and crashing into metal fence outside of a business. Klimczak and another officer who joined the chase then realized the driver of the Rio was a boy when they saw him cowering in the backseat, trying to hide, the South Bend Tribune reports.
The unidentified boy was taken to a police station, where he was released once his mother came up pick him up. Investigators said the boy apparently took off with the car after he was left alone inside the vehicle by his mother’s boyfriend with the keys still in the ignition, police said.
“They’ve had some issues with him,” LaPorte Police Sgt. Bill Degnegaard told the newspaper. “He was trying to have a little fun, I assume, and took it for a joyride.”
The boy’s mother told police that her son has had some behavioral-related problems at school recently. Officials from Child Protective Service were also investigating, WSBT reports.