WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4) – Two children, who say they were driving to California, were involved in a crash with a semi in West Valley City this morning.
Police say the parents were sleeping and didn’t know the girls took the car until police woke them up early this morning. The parents say the girls got out of the house through the basement.
“The parents are horrified and shocked, they didn’t know that their kids were gone,” Detective Scott List West Jordan Police Department tells ABC4.
The car ended up crashing into a semi at 3200 West and South Frontage Road. West Valley City Police are investigating the crash, but West Jordan Police are investigating how the girls got the car in the first place.
“It doesn’t look like this is a neglect issue, it looks like this is something that could have happened to anybody. We’ve got some curious kids who were excited about swimming with dolphins in California and figured out how to drive the car,” Detective List explains.
The 9-year-old driver and her 4-year-old sister were both buckled up, according to police.
Photos captured at the scene by ABC4’s Jerad Giottonini show the car, which appears to be a Chevy Malibu, colliding head-on with a semi truck. The car has apparent front-end damage, and at least one of the vehicles appears to be leaking fluid.
Police tell ABC4 no injuries were reported.
Around this time last year, a similar incident happened in Utah when a 5-year-old boy was pulled over by Highway Patrol after he was found driving his parents’ car. The boy, Adrian, told authorities he had gotten in an argument with his mom over buying him a Lamborghini.
When she said no, he decided to take the car to California and buy a Lamborghini himself, with just $3 in his pocket.
As originally reported by TMZ, RD Whittington, owner of the brand Wires Only, brought Adrian and his family to Los Angeles and let him sit in a bunch of the cars, including a Ferrari and a Hummer.
He also talked with Shaq and Lil Pump on FaceTime, then was driven out to meet Jamie Foxx.
Adrian was reportedly punished by his parents for stealing their car. The Weber County District Attorney has said his parents wouldn’t face charges for neglect.
