DLNews Law Enforcement:

Oroville, CA—In an unexpected twist to the usual morning school rush, a nine-year-old boy in California took punctuality to new heights—or rather, he took the driver's seat to get there.

The boy was in a time crunch on an ordinary morning as his mother seemingly hosted a marathon session in the bathroom. Eager to catch the first bell, he did what any resourceful yet slightly misinformed youngster might consider: commandeered Mom's car for a direct route to school.

The patrol car was damaged when the boy rolled backward with his mom's car in the parking lot.

Two miles into his adventure, the plot and the car thickened when it sputtered to a halt smack in the middle of an intersection. Spotting the vehicular anomaly, Officer Terry Dunn took to the loudspeaker, expecting perhaps a distracted driver, only to find he was negotiating with a dashboard barely visible under a mop of schoolboy hair.

“Quickly clear the intersection!” boomed Officer Dunn, only to watch in bemusement as the tiny chauffeur ducked down, wrestled the gearstick, and somewhat miraculously, piloted the car into a nearby parking lot. The plot took another comical turn when the car gently rolled backward, bumping into Dunn’s patrol car like a hesitant apology. "You're quite the driver, young man," chuckled Officer Dunn.

Emerging from his cruiser, Dunn prepared for anything but was met with a small face peeking out the driver's window, offering a sheepish, "Sorry! I’m just trying to get to school.”

The officer promptly reassured the boy’s mother, who had been frantically searching for her son, fearing the worst. Meanwhile, Kimberly S., the boy’s grandmother, expressed relief and a touch of humor online about the 15 nerve-wracking minutes when they suspected everything from alien abduction to a sudden interest in hitchhiking—anything but their little one hitting the open road.

The family’s ordeal ended with gratitude toward Officer Dunn, whose calm response ensured safety. As for the young driver? He got the rest of the day off from school—a punitive measure he probably didn’t anticipate in his vehicular quest for punctuality.