In a turn of events that sounds more like a script from a family comedy movie, a 9-year-old boy in Oroville, California, decided that waiting for the school bus was just too mainstream. Instead, he embarked on an adventurous journey to school, taking his mother’s Volkswagen for a spin. This young maverick’s escapade quickly turned into a high-speed chase with the California Highway Patrol (CHP), giving them a story they probably couldn’t wait to share at the dinner table.

The drama unfolded on a seemingly ordinary Wednesday morning when a CHP officer noticed the Volkswagen oddly stationed in the middle of an intersection. When instructed to move, the young driver took the directive a tad too seriously, hitting the gas and leading the police on a chase that ended in a dirt parking lot. In a plot twist that would make Hollywood screenwriters nod in approval, the boy then put the car in reverse and “rammed” it into the patrol car. Luckily, this action-packed sequence resulted in only minor damages to the vehicles.

But the real jaw-dropper came when the officers approached the vehicle and discovered that the person behind the wheel was not a seasoned criminal mastermind but a 9-year-old boy on a mission to get to school. Yes, folks, you read that right. While most kids his age are mastering the art of tying shoelaces, this young lad took on the challenge of navigating through traffic.

The boy’s reason for his impromptu driving lesson? He was simply trying to get to school. Officer Terry Dunn from CHP recounted his disbelief upon seeing the young driver, who, with the innocence only a child can muster, apologized and explained he was just trying to reach school on time.

Following the incident, the boy was safely dispatched to school, with the necessary authorities alerted and the situation thoroughly documented. The CHP used this incident to emphasize the importance of vehicle security and the vital need to educate our youngsters on road safety, hoping it serves as a wake-up call for parents to secure their vehicles and impart crucial driving knowledge to their children.

So, the next time you’re stuck in morning traffic, grumbling about your commute, just be thankful you’re not the CHP officer who had to explain why a 9-year-old was driving a Volkswagen to school. And to all the parents out there, maybe it’s time to keep those car keys a little more hidden, unless you want your child to take “drive yourself to school” a bit too literally.