Embracing His Inner Adult: Utah Child Steals Family Car to Drive to Lamborghini Dealership
A 5-year-old boy from Utah literally let his passion for cars run away with him over the weekend. After argument with his mother over the possibility of procuring him a Lamborghini, he decided to steal the family SUV to drive to California and buy one himself.
Unaware that the brand’s products typically go for six-figure sums (and that there is a much closer dealership in Las Vegas), the child was discovered driving sloppily on Utah’s I-15 by local law enforcement on Monday afternoon.
Utah State Patrol said he had about three dollars in his pocket.
According to local outlet KSL, the boy spent about 5 minutes driving to the expressway before his lack of experience caught up with him. A Utah State Patrol trooper hunting for speeders spotted the child traveling at 30 mph while failing to maintain proper lane etiquette. UHP Lt. Nick Street said a stop was initiated at 12:15 in the afternoon, with the presumption that they were dealing with a drunk driver.
From KSL:
“When they found the vehicle, they thought ‘Oh yeah, this might be an impaired person’ and when the car pulled over, it even seemed more like this person might not know what they’re doing,” Street said, adding that it was “luck” that the trooper spotted the vehicle before anything worse may have happened.
That trooper was able to pull the vehicle over near the 24th Street off-ramp. When the trooper got out to speak with the driver, he discovered a boy whose head barely reached the headrest behind the wheel.
“He was sitting on the front edge of the seat so that he could reach the brake pedal to keep the car stopped while I was standing there,” said UHP trooper Rick Morgan, who initiated the stop. “I helped him get the car into park, shut the vehicle down and then we started to look for means to contact his parents.”
The family confirmed the boy’s age and explained that an older sibling was supposed to be watching the child while both parents were working. They also mentioned the car-related argument and noted that the 5-year-old had never attempted anything like this in the past. Meanwhile, the kid told authorities he was attempting to get to his sister’s house in California and hopefully purchase a Lamborghini for himself.
Morgan added that the boy was clearly rattled by the experience and was on the verge of crying. That said, Lt. Street admits he was impressed the child managed to drive at all.
“I have a son who just turned six and I can’t imagine him being able to figure out how to get behind the wheel or even having the want or willpower to be like ‘I’m going to California to buy a Lamborghini,'” he said.
Amusing, but this funny little story may not have a happy ending. Street mentioned that the family could be up on charges if the Weber County attorney’s office sees fit. “We’re counting our blessings but that doesn’t mean a high-risk situation that put a lot of people’s lives in jeopardy,” he said. “Based on that, we’ll talk with the county attorney and see what charges they would like filed or screened with them and we’ll do that.”
Utah State Patrol took the time to remind parents not to keep car keys in an area where small children might have access. It also posted a censored image of the boy sitting in the driver’s seat and dash-cam footage of the stop. While he’s not going to take the Daytona 500 any time soon, he didn’t do so bad for his first outing behind the wheel. Let’s hope the courts are kind and he waits a few more years before attempts his next road trip.
[Image: Utah Highway Patrol]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I see that a Lamborghini owner (a shady local businessman) provided the kid with a ride in one and there are pictures of the kid riding on his mother's lap in the passenger seat of the Lambo. Additionally, someone wants to fly him to California where they will let him drive a real Lambo (with supervision).
Had the officer not stopped him, and he ran out of gas on the highway...that could have been tragic.