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EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – A craving for a McDonald’s cheeseburger apparently prompted an eight-year-old Ohio boy to take his four-year-old sister for a ride in his dad’s van, which he learned to drive on the internet.

East Palestine police Officer Jacob Koehler told WJW-TV in Cleveland the father went to bed Sunday and the mother fell asleep on the couch with the kids.

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Koehler says witnesses saw the boy driving and called police in the city, about 90 miles (145 kilometres) southeast of Cleveland. He says the boy drove about a mile to the restaurant, through intersections and over railroad tracks, without mishap.

Witnesses say the boy appeared to obey traffic laws.

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Koehler says the boy told him he learned to drive by watching YouTube videos.

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No charges have been filed.