A St. Paul girl on a bicycle let her smartphone guide her home Tuesday morning and ended up being escorted off Interstate 94 by the State Patrol.

The 14-year-old was pedaling on the shoulder of eastbound I-94 in the vicinity of Minnesota 280 shortly after 8 a.m. when people started calling 911. When a trooper caught up to her a few minutes later, she was near Cretin Avenue, where she intended to exit to get home.

The trooper made sure she got off the freeway safely and advised her to stick to city streets and bike routes, according to Lt. Tiffani Nielson, a State Patrol spokeswoman. The trooper also called her parents.

“She said she was on the freeway because her GPS gave her that route,” Nielson said.

Nielson said hitchhikers and adult bicyclists sometimes take a chance on the freeway just because it’s the most direct route, but it’s unusual to find a young teen there.

It’s also illegal.

“Freeways are restricted to motorized vehicles only,” Nielson said. “Fortunately she was OK.”

Jaime DeLage can be reached at 651-228-5450. Follow him at twitter.com/JaimeDeLage.