Barefoot, PJ-clad Tot Takes Cops on Wild Ride

Wednesday, 22 June 2011 | by Pat's Picks

“Barefoot and wearing pajamas,” is how police officers described the driver of the red Pontiac Sunfire when they finally caught up to him. To be accurate, it was his step-father’s car. The driver, it turns out, was a seven-year-old boy.  The Detroit Free-Press says it was only after a call to 911 (“believe it or not, I just passed about a 5-, 6-year-old kid flying down the road with a red Pontiac Sunbird”)  that officers were finally able to locate the speeding tot.

Another 911 call, this one from a 16-year-old driver, noted that the boy appeared to be standing up in the driver’s seat, rather than sitting, and could barely see over the steering wheel. Despite his unorthodox approach, police say they clocked the boy going upwards of 70 miles per hour. (The photo above is taken from the officer’s dashboard camera.) When officers finally did manage to get him to stop, the boy showed he hadn’t quite mastered everything about driving—he couldn’t figure out how to unlock the doors.

Here’s video from the cops’ dashboard camera. The video cuts out before we actually see the boy emerge from the car. But note when the officer approaches the car but can’t get the boy to unlock his door: