6-Year-Old Drives Family Car to School

[Cronopio]

Source: Associated Press

WICOMICO CHURCH, Va. (Jan. 6) - A 6-year-old Virginia boy who missed his bus tried to drive to school in his family's sedan -- and crashed.

His parents were charged with child endangerment. State police said the boy suffered only minor injuries and authorities drove him to school after he was evaluated at a local hospital for a bump on his head. He arrived shortly after lunch, Sgt. Tom Cunningham said.

It happened around 7:40 a.m. Monday on Route 360, about 61 miles east of Richmond.

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. ...

Read more: http://news.aol.com/article/6-year-old-drives-family-car-to-school/295688

[givemebackmycountry]

1. Damn, he almost made it!

Question: What are they teaching at this school that would make a kid drive himself to school so he wouldn't miss a day?
No child left behind indeed.


Shit, I'll drive my own ass to school!

[Adsos Letter]

2. I'll bet he has a girlfriend...

:D

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

3. "he learned to drive playing Grand Theft Auto"

they are lucky he didn't rob a bank on the way!

[billyoc]

4. Two words:

Pizza Day. :rofl:

[sandnsea]

5. "He did not want to miss breakfast"

I hope that doesn't mean there wasn't any food for him in the house.

[harmonicon]

8. what do you think?

:(

[sandnsea]

9. It's what I thought

before I even clicked on the article. Poor kid. Glad he didn't kill himself or anybody else.

[provis99]

6. now there's a kid dedicated to school!

[woundedkarma]

7. If you miss school, you're going to H*

I remember being a child and basically thinking that missing school was the end of the world. Failing to turn in homework assignments.. etc. I didn't know what would happen but I was sure these things were so important that if I didn't do them... something *****bad***** would happen.

I don't see how you can possibly blame the parents. They did not tell their child to drive to school.

I imagine the guy was working, his mom was probably dead tired ... more than likely from working too. I would never blame parents for sleeping.

I've never met a parent who didn't sleep at some point while their children were awake.

Screwed up country.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

12. The plot thickens.

Why was a 6-year-old playing Grand Theft Auto? Why wasn't Mom up feeding her kids and seeing the young boy off to the bus? He didn't want to miss BREAKFAST (and gym). Those were my first questions. This article sheds more light:

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=104&sid=1568894

"The boy and his 4-year-old brother were placed with a foster family after the incident and are attending school daily.

McKenney said the decision to lock up the boys' mother wasn't made lightly, and came after several instances in which she failed to provide adequate care. Waltman suffers from mental health difficulties "that prevent her from parenting or working" or being allowed to be alone with her children, he said. Authorities said Waltman was sleeping when the boy took off for school in the car.

"The risk of neglect and that the neglect could result in death of a child outweighs the immediate impact of the removal of a parent from the home," McKenney said.

Monday's drive wasn't the first time the boy took the family car from their home. A similar incident occurred last year in neighboring Lancaster County, McKenney said. The parents weren't prosecuted but the county placed the boy in foster care in September, and a judge approved an order prohibiting his mother from being his sole custodian.

After her arrest this week, Waltman was also ordered held without bond in nearby King and Queen County, where she faces bad-check charges, McKenney said.

[OneBlueSky]

10. well . . . in my book, the kid gets an A for resourcefulness and initiative . . .

a C+ for implementation, and an D for judgement (would have been an F if he were an adult) . . .

all in all, a "gentleman C" student, imo . . . not bad . . . :applause:

[VA4Moran]

11. Talk about

taking initiative. Way to go kid!