Six-Year Old Steals Parents' Car, Says He Learned From 'Grand Theft Auto'

Leave a Comment Posted January 6, 2009 - By r_pad

Yesterday, a six-year old boy stole his parents' car after missing his school bus. The ingenious lad was determined not to be late for school and figured breaking several laws was a fair exchange (I'm sure that makes sense for children ages 6 to...I don't know, 48). When questioned, the boy said he was able to pull off his heist through knowledge he gained from video games. According to The Associated Press:

"The boy, whose name wasn't released, missed the bus, took the keys to his family's 2005 Ford Taurus and drove nearly six miles toward school while his mother was asleep, police said. He made at least two 90-degree turns, passed several cars and ran off the rural two-lane road several times before hitting an embankment and utility pole about a mile and a half from school. The boy told police he learned to drive playing Grand Theft Auto and Monster Truck Jam video games."

The boy and his four-year old brother are currently in protective custody. There are a few takeaways here. The boy's hand-eye coordination must be pretty advanced for his age; while he didn't make it to the finish line, I'm totally impressed that he made it six miles. He's also very lucky that he wasn't seriously injured. Lastly, the parents should be in hot water for neglecting their kid, but they should also be dinged for letting a six-year old play an M-rated game. Unfortunately, someone out there is going to use this as an excuse to attack the "evils of gaming", but a youngster playing Grand Theft Auto?!? That's just bad parenting.

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