Dashcam video footage captured a seven-year-old boy crash his parents’ car as he tried to get himself a slushie drink.
Youngster Daniel Wittenbach got behind the wheel of the family SUV in Ohio and drove it for several minutes the wrong way down the street before hitting another vehicle.
Bemused motorists called 911 to notify police after spotting the youngster in the Kia.
“There was a boy driving the wrong way, a small child in a red Kia,” one caller told emergency dispatchers.
“He just crashed into another vehicle,” another reported.
The video shows Daniel crossing the median, swerving through traffic and around objects before the crash took place.
His parents told WLWT that their son thought “the car was driving by itself” and that he took their keys as they slept.
When they asked him where he was going, Daniel said, “I just wanted a slushie from Speedway.”
“He was definitely scared. He didn’t understand that people were trying to help and trying to stop the vehicle,” said his father, Brian Wittenbach.
When police showed up at the family home in Middletown, both Brian and Alesha Witenbach were still sleeping.
“My wife and I are not bad parents, and I’m sure people are going to label us like that. It could happen to anyone,” added Mr Wittenbach.
“It scared the heck out of me, and I’m just thankful that he’s alive.”
Daniel was taken to hospital and observed for several hours following the accident.
Butler County Children’s Services is investigating the incident, according to WLWT.
