Old Tiger
10-13-2007, 02:07 AM
Three-Year-Old Kid Takes Toy Car For Drive On Highway
Friday October 12, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff
http://www.citynews.ca/images/2007-10/oct1107-kidcar.jpg
Jordan Will is like most three-year-old boys. He loves sitting in his cherry-red Mustang toy car and driving the motor-driven mini around his home. But like most guys, after a while he needs new adventures. So the youngster decided to take his prize possession out for a spin - in real traffic.
The boy from Omro, Wisconsin, not far from Oshkosh, somehow got his battery operated toy car out of the house without his parents knowing and drove it onto a local highway. And he didn't do it alone. Little Jordan had a two-year-old passenger right beside him. This car has everything you'd expect to find in the real thing - chrome wheels, a rear spoiler, even a sound system. The only thing missing was a license to drive it.
It doesn't go very fast, but it was fast enough to get the duo through their local area, past a busy intersection, near a highway, onto a sidewalk and over a bridge. Panicked neighbours gaped at the sight in disbelief as the car proceeded on its way, with one giving chase before a police officer finally pulled the tots over and got them out of harm's way. They'd managed to traverse five or six city blocks on their own.
Witnesses note the boy not only drove as well as a three-year-old could, but also managed to follow all the traffic laws. "He even obeyed the signs, so that was good. He stopped at the red light and got on the cross walk," recalls neighbor Jaci Bauer.
Afterwards, the precocious driver's father was breathless about what could have happened. "It's kind of cute now when you look at it," admits Doug Will. "But at the time, it wasn't cute at all. It was scary. I was really upset." He'd been searching for the child when police called. What were his son's first words on seeing his relieved dad's face? "He just said, 'We went for a ride, daddy,'"
Cops won't be laying any charges in the case, but Will has taken away the keys to the toy and removed the battery.
Incredibly, that wasn't the only story about an underage driver in the U.S. to hit the headlines this week. A six-year-old Denver lad woke up with a craving for some chicken nuggets on Tuesday. But Josh Barber didn't want to disturb his sleeping granny, so he grabbed her car keys, unlocked the door, moved his child seat to the front, and started the vehicle up.
But the tyke didn't understand the gear shift and when he couldn't get the vehicle out of reverse, the inevitable happened. He backed up 75 feet into a hydro pole, knocking out power and phones to dozens of people in the neighbourhood.
"I hit the gas," he told a local TV station. "I crashed into these things and then what happened is I didn't know what to do."
There's no word on whether Josh ever got his nuggets, but he's promised his grandma he won't take her car out for a spin again unless she's doing the driving.
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_15689.aspx
Friday October 12, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff
http://www.citynews.ca/images/2007-10/oct1107-kidcar.jpg
Jordan Will is like most three-year-old boys. He loves sitting in his cherry-red Mustang toy car and driving the motor-driven mini around his home. But like most guys, after a while he needs new adventures. So the youngster decided to take his prize possession out for a spin - in real traffic.
The boy from Omro, Wisconsin, not far from Oshkosh, somehow got his battery operated toy car out of the house without his parents knowing and drove it onto a local highway. And he didn't do it alone. Little Jordan had a two-year-old passenger right beside him. This car has everything you'd expect to find in the real thing - chrome wheels, a rear spoiler, even a sound system. The only thing missing was a license to drive it.
It doesn't go very fast, but it was fast enough to get the duo through their local area, past a busy intersection, near a highway, onto a sidewalk and over a bridge. Panicked neighbours gaped at the sight in disbelief as the car proceeded on its way, with one giving chase before a police officer finally pulled the tots over and got them out of harm's way. They'd managed to traverse five or six city blocks on their own.
Witnesses note the boy not only drove as well as a three-year-old could, but also managed to follow all the traffic laws. "He even obeyed the signs, so that was good. He stopped at the red light and got on the cross walk," recalls neighbor Jaci Bauer.
Afterwards, the precocious driver's father was breathless about what could have happened. "It's kind of cute now when you look at it," admits Doug Will. "But at the time, it wasn't cute at all. It was scary. I was really upset." He'd been searching for the child when police called. What were his son's first words on seeing his relieved dad's face? "He just said, 'We went for a ride, daddy,'"
Cops won't be laying any charges in the case, but Will has taken away the keys to the toy and removed the battery.
Incredibly, that wasn't the only story about an underage driver in the U.S. to hit the headlines this week. A six-year-old Denver lad woke up with a craving for some chicken nuggets on Tuesday. But Josh Barber didn't want to disturb his sleeping granny, so he grabbed her car keys, unlocked the door, moved his child seat to the front, and started the vehicle up.
But the tyke didn't understand the gear shift and when he couldn't get the vehicle out of reverse, the inevitable happened. He backed up 75 feet into a hydro pole, knocking out power and phones to dozens of people in the neighbourhood.
"I hit the gas," he told a local TV station. "I crashed into these things and then what happened is I didn't know what to do."
There's no word on whether Josh ever got his nuggets, but he's promised his grandma he won't take her car out for a spin again unless she's doing the driving.
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_15689.aspx