A driver who rammed a California Highway Patrol cruiser and sparked a brief chase Wednesday in Northern California turned out to be a 9-year-old kid who told officers he was trying to get to school, according to a CHP social media post.
About 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, in what the CHP called "a scene straight out of a movie," officers in Oroville, California, responded to the intersection of Grand Avenue and Fourth Street and encountered a gray Volkswagen sedan stopped in the middle of the intersection, the CHP said.
After an officer instructed the driver to move, the vehicle sped off and led a brief chase that ended in a dirt parking lot near Plumas Avenue Elementary School, the CHP said.
The driver then abruptly reversed the vehicle and rammed the officer's patrol car in what the CHP called "a moment that could have led to a grave outcome."
The officer soon discovered it was a 9-year-old behind the wheel of his mother's car, trying to drive himself to school, the CHP said.
No injuries were reported, and the child eventually was sent to school.
The crash was "a stark reminder of the dangers inherent in our daily commutes and the responsibility we carry as drivers. The fact that this crash involved a child driver only heightens the need for awareness around vehicle security and the importance of imparting road safety knowledge to our younger generation," the CHP said.
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