The Mt. Juliet Police Department in Tennessee said it responded to a call from a parent at W. A. Wright Elementary School after receiving a report of a stolen car with a child inside. After investigating, police quickly located the car and determined that the child had jumped into the driver’s seat and driven himself home after his mother entered the school. The responding officers met the concerned mother at the school and learned that she had gone inside to drop off some paperwork before returning to find her car and her child gone. Officers reviewed the surveillance video and didn’t see anyone else get into the vehicle before it drove away. A witness speaking with law enforcement said they noticed a vehicle back out of the parking lot recklessly before it nearly struck another car, jumped a curb, and sped away. Authorities confirmed that the car was discovered at the family’s home, about a mile away from the school. The car was located inside an open garage. Police found the child unharmed and in the company of his father, who said he was puzzled when the child arrived without his mother. The child spoke to investigators and said he had a disagreement with his mother before deciding to take the car home. Police have consulted with Youth Services and decided not to file charges against the child because he’s too young to be held criminally responsible.
