He leans over his shoulder, as his red-and-white shirt bounces against the blue SUV, he jingles the keys in his hands.

¨I have been driving since I was 13, I do it for my parents, they insist I do,” Pablo said.

Teens driving before they’re even eligible for permits is a common occurrence in communities like East San Jose. According to Dana Hafter-Manza of Impact Teen Drivers, an organization geared toward teen auto safety, 70 percent of teen car wrecks are due to what she calls immature driving. That’s on top of another startling statistic: that 50 percent of teens injured in wrecks are passengers.

That immaturity was on display as recently as last week, when Pablo, 16, locked his key in his car one afternoon and had to wait until almost 3 a.m. to be helped out by his father.

But the families of these teens are relying on their children for everyday jobs to help support their homes.

Fifteen teens, all Overfelt High graduates or students, and their parents spoke to Mosaic on the issue. Their full identities have been withheld to protect their privacy and safety.

“I drop my mom off at work everyday. I am the only one who drives in my household,” Alan, 16, said.

That need was echoed by Alan’s mother Rosaria.

“I depend on him and he has to to drive me and his father to work, or we won’t be able to pay rent,” she said.

“My parents depend on me to pick up my little sister from school everyday, my mom works at Fresco and works long hours. I drive more for my parents, not social,” said Juan, 17.

Pablo, 16, a resident of East Side San Jose, has numerous reasons for driving. He said he cannot depend on his parents to take him to work everyday and he does his best to give his younger brother time out of the house, including trips for fast food and the movies.

When asked why they don’t turn to options like VTA or Uber and Lyft, the teens’ answers varied from, “I don’t have enough time to wait at the bus stop all day” to “If you think about it, $2 every day is a lot more expensive than buying a car and gas.”

But the risks they take aren’t for a better social life. They admonish peers who joyride while they jeopardize their future to work and support their families.

“I got my truck for work and I put miles on it for work, not to take my friends to ditch and eat during school,” said Jesus, 16.

But even after they become eligible for permits and licenses, some East San Jose residents are scared to have their name registered anywhere due to their immigration statuses. In 2016, the California Department of Motor Vehicles gave 800,000 undocumented immigrants licenses.

Out of the 15 teens who spoke to Mosaic, 10 of them were undocumented, and were afraid of the risks of breaking up their family.

¨I don’t want to risk having my brother growing up by himself if I were to get deported because I signed some DMV papers,¨ said Jose, 18.

Jesus also identifies as an undocumented resident and echoed those concerns.

“My parents always told me if people asked if I was born in the U.S., even in school projects, I say I am born in San Jose,” he said. “I wouldn’t tell the government my information.”

Jovette Cortes-Meza, a rising junior at Overfelt High in San Jose, is a 2017 Mosaic staff writer.