2009-01-07 13:17:08
Tue Jan 6, 3:44 pm ET
WICOMICO CHURCH, Va. A 6-year-old Virginia boy who missed his bus tried to
drive to school in his family's sedan and crashed. His parents were charged
with child endangerment. State police said the boy suffered only minor injuries
and authorities drove him to school after he was evaluated at a local hospital
for a bump on his head. He arrived shortly after lunch, Sgt. Tom Cunningham
said.
It happened around 7:40 a.m. Monday on Route 360, about 61 miles east of
Richmond.
The boy, whose name wasn't released, missed the bus, took the keys to his
family's 2005 Ford Taurus and drove nearly six miles toward school while his
mother was asleep, police said.
He made at least two 90-degree turns, passed several cars and ran off the rural
two-lane road several times before hitting an embankment and utility pole about
a mile and a half from school.
The boy told police he learned to drive playing Grand Theft Auto and Monster
Truck Jam video games.
"He was very intent on getting to school," said Northumberland County Sheriff
Chuck Wilkins. "When he got out of the car, he started walking to school. He
did not want to miss breakfast and PE."
His parents, Jacqulyn Deana Waltman, 26, and David Eugene Dodson, 40, are each
charged with child endangerment, Wilkins said. Waltman is being held without
bond. Dodson was released on a $5,000 bond.
It was not clear if they had attorneys.
The boy and his 4-year-old brother were placed in protective custody.
"This really is a story of miracles," Wilkins said. "The Lord was with him,
along with everybody else on the highway."