A boy with autism was apprehended by police on Sunday morning after taking his mother's car for a ride in Las Vegas while she was in the shower, police say.
The 9-year-old, who took the vehicle's keys without the knowledge of his parent, was stopped near Craig Road and Decatur Boulevard after a witness spotted him driving erratically and contacted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police police at roughly 8:45 a.m., Fox5 reported.
Eyewitness Mark Cabigon, who shared an image of the car with the local media outlet, said the vehicle narrowly missed other cars on the road and had been swerving in and out of the traffic lanes.
"I really thought it was a drunk driver," Cabigon said while describing the scene, Fox5 reported.
"That's why I was so cautious. I didn't want an accident. That's why I waved my hands out the door. Trying to stop other drivers, warning them. It just melted my heart when I knew it was a kid," Cabigon added.
The boy was pulled over and later released to his mother, KTNV reported. No citations were issued by Las Vegas police, who did not immediately respond to request for comment.
On July 17, a 10-year-old boy was arrested in Texas after ramming into a police car and crashing into a tree while behind the wheel of his family's truck. Deputies had to use spike strips to stop the child, who was quickly detained by officers after attempting to run away on foot.
During the pursuit, the child reached speeds of up to 50 miles per hour and only came to a stop after getting stuck in a drainage ditch close to a set of railway tracks in Bexar County.
Earlier the same month, on July 7, Nebraska authorities expressed shock after a 9-year-old boy was cited for crashing a stolen vehicle before hurling racist slurs and spitting at a police officer.
When searched, a knife was found in the child's possession. "This one is pretty concerning and a little out of the ordinary," Grand Island police captain Jim Duering said at the time. "Hopefully we can get services introduced and get this young man back on the right road."
The child was cited with flight to avoid arrest, theft of a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon and assault on an officer with bodily fluid, local authorities confirmed in an arrest report. Reflecting on the busy weekend, which included the boy's escapades, the Grand Island police Twitter account complained: "Faith in humanity tank is running low after this weekend."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Jason Murdock is a staff reporter for Newsweek.
Based in London, Murdock previously covered cybersecurity for the International Business Times UK ... Read more
