If you’re a parent, it’s hard to know what your kids are up to all the time, but you can usually assume they’re not stealing your car to go on a joyride. But that’s what one underage driver in Virginia allegedly did before he lost control and crashed a car through the metal guardrail. Making things worse, another teenager was in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
13-year-old driver is lucky that the car didn’t roll down the hill
On October 4 at around 7:18 a.m., police responded to a report of a 13-year-old boy who had collided into a railing on the northbound ramp of Fairfax County Parkway to Pohick Road, according to a post by the Fairfax County Police on X (formerly Twitter).
According to a report by DC News Now, the 13-year-old driver as well as a 13-year-old male passenger were found with minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital. Both of their identities have not been disclosed due to them being minors.
Officers discovered that the 13-year-old driver had taken a vehicle belonging to the passenger’s parent. The boy had lost control of the vehicle and hit a power pole. That sent the car careening straight through a metal guardrail and sending it down a steep cliff. As luck would have it, the vehicle did not roll down the hill, potentially making the accident far more serious.
An image of the car shows that the trees and foliage had effectively caught the car mid-tumble. Laura Clapsaddle, who lives close to the crash scene, was relieved that the boys didn’t suffer any serious injuries.
“It happened in my neighbor’s backyard just over here,” she said. “And [the boys] are very lucky that a tree stopped them from going all the way down the embankment and into the neighbor’s backyard.”
She continued, “I just wonder if their parents were surprised about it as we were.”
The 13-year-old was charged for driving without a license.
The roadway was temporarily closed due to the accident but was reopened at around 11 a.m., about four hours after the incident occurred.
