12-year-old boy from Queens stole his family’s Range Rover on Monday and picked up his 7-year-old cousin before going on a 124-mile trip.
via CBS:
The boy and his 7-year-old cousin, who was in the passenger seat, are back home tonight after police from New Jersey and New York spent the day tracking them down, CBS2’s Lisa Rozner reported.
The joyride lasted five hours, with the boy behind the wheel of a white Range Rover that police said he drove from his home on 115th Street in South Ozone Park to nearly the Delaware border.
Police were alerted around 9 a.m. and said surveillance video showed the cousins leaving in the vehicle.
E-ZPass and license plate readers tracked them crossing the Verrazzano Bridge into New Jersey around 11 a.m.
State troopers used flashing sirens, but the boy allegedly sped off. Police eased off the pursuit for the safety of the children, CBS2’s Natalie Duddridge reported.
At 2:15 p.m., the NYPD says the boy tried using his dad’s credit card to buy cookies at a rest stop near the New Jersey-Delaware border. The kids managed to avoid getting into an accident and were taken into custody shortly after.
They were brought to the NYPD’s 106th precinct Monday night.
Outside, the little girl said: “Yeah, it was good. I wish I was driving.”
“He drove good?” an officer asked.
“Yeah,” she replied.
“You had a good time?” the officer asked.
“Yeah,” she said.
The children were released to their family and taken home. Police said no one will face any charges.
“The kids are OK. They’re OK,” said Joe Gangaram, the boy’s uncle. “I thank the precinct for doing a good job. Everybody’s fine.”
Rozner asked how the boy learned to drive, but Gangaram would not answer.
If you ask us, it sounds like this kid has driven before. You don’t make it 124 miles without an accident without knowing how to drive.
