VIDEO: 8-year-old Minnesota boy goes on joyride with younger siblings
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - Remember the 8-year-old who went on a joyride with his two foster siblings from St. Paul to Moundsview a few months back? Now we’re seeing how that car trip all unfolded for the very first time.
What happened was captured by the dashcam of the state trooper who eventually caught up to him. But why he decided to go on the run is still a mystery.
The Minnesota State Patrol started getting calls about an erratic driver on Highway 36 near 35w during the morning rush hour back in April.
"I was like that can't be true, that's can't be true… Something is wrong,” commuter Eric Brown told us at the time.
He said he couldn't believe his eyes when he spotted the boy in the driver's seat hardly able to see over the steering wheel.
"There were two cars in front of him,” Brown said. “The turn lane was red, he stopped. The first two cars turned, he turned, and then I turned right with him."
By the time trooper Kyle Klawiter catched up to them, the boy was driving through a Moundsview neighborhood. The video showed his white Buick Roadmaster going through the intersection at the end of the block, with Brown following in his black SUV.
Seconds later, the boy turned into a random driveway and the trooper pulled up right behind him. At first, the boy put the car in reverse and actually backed into the squad car before he pulled forward and parked.
For the next few minutes, the boy is in the hot seat as Klawiter questions him before he steps out still in his pajamas and goes to the trunk to get the belongings he's packed in a garbage bag. After he grabs his backpack, we get our first glimpse of his partners in crime.
His 5-year-old foster sister and her 3-year-old little brother in his onesie stumble out to go with the trooper as well. Even though their intended destination is still unknown, thanks to Brown and Klawiter, their crash course in driver's education didn't end in tragedy.
All three kids were returned to their foster family. Ramsey County Child Protection conducted an investigation and all they'll say is that the children are safe. The boy had a history of running away and all three had been reported missing around the time they were found.