In Virginia's Northern Neck, on a random Monday morning, a 6-year-old boy drove his mother's Ford Taurus for more than 10 miles, weaving in and out of oncoming traffic, to finally slam into a utility pole, no one got hurt. The first-grader missed his school bus and decided to drive his mom's car to elementary school so he wouldn't miss breakfast and PE. The boy's parents were arrested and charged with felony child endangerment.

The boy was not particularly tall for his age and was "possibly standing" while driving the Taurus. He had an idea about how to start, propel and steer the car from playing video games. Once he got going, the boy navigated his way along Route 200 (Dupont Highway), across a bridge spanning the Great Wicomico River and then turned west on Northumberland Highway, which is about 140 miles from Washington. He made it through two intersections and was "doing a pretty great rate of speed" as he passed cars on the two-lane road while not wearing a seat belt. Other drivers noticed. Two people called the sheriff's office, one called the state police and at least one motorist "shouted at him to get off the road when he came to an intersection. The boy had gone 10.4 miles, the sheriff said, and was about a mile and a half from his school in Heathsville when he decided to cross the double line and pass again. But this time, he saw a tractor-trailer coming toward him in the other lane. He quickly whipped the car back into his lane, but, unlike in video games, the car swerved out of control, skidded into an embankment and then struck a utility pole on the rear passenger side. The force of the impact cracked a wooden beam on top of the utility pole. The Taurus was severely damaged.