Six Year Old Drives to School Thanks to GTA
Most six year olds in America are probably not too excited about attending school. Many parents have to drag their children out of bed in the morning in order to make their scheduled school bus pick up times. However, one diligent six year old from Wicomico Church, Virginia, wanted to be on time for school so badly, he borrowed the family car after missing the school bus.
According to the Associated Press, the six year old boy missed his school bus last week and tried to drive the family’s 2005 Ford Taurus to school which was over seven miles away. The child was able to drive the car six miles before crashing into a utility pole planted about a mile and a half away from his destination. Police said that during his drive, the child must have navigated “at least two 90-degree turns, passed several cars and ran off the rural two-lane road several times."
When the boy was questioned by the police as to where he obtained the necessary skills to drive a Ford Taurus, he responded by saying he learned to drive by playing video games such as Grand Theft Auto and Monster Truck Jam. The county sheriff also mentioned that the boy was so intent on going to school that after the crash, he proceeded to walk the rest of the way because he did not want to miss breakfast and PE class. The boy was found to have had only minor injuries and was released from hospital the same day.
At the time of the incident, the 26 year old mother was asleep upstairs. Both her and the 40 year old father are in police custody, charged with child endangerment. In the meantime, both the six year old boy and his four year old brother remain placed in protective custody.
Besides the obvious blessing that there were no serious injuries, this incident also provides more fuel for those advocating against video game violence. But let’s not forget that it was bad parenting that allowed a six year old child to play mature rated video games. However, the bright side of the story is that this six year old had the reflexes and coordination to navigate a 2005 Ford Taurus... all thanks to the advances of video games.
- Buy a Lexus, Get Spam Free
- Plasma TVs to be Banned in Europe?
- iRiver's Wave Internet Phone Coming Soon
- Sony Debuts "Eco" Bravia LCD TV
- Lenovo's Dual-Screen W700ds Hands-On
- CES '09: Upcoming Media Players From Samsung
- CES 2009: PC Building Competition
- Palm Wants to Take Out the iPhone
- Sony's Recession Friendly Walkman, Phones
- An Apple Zone for CES'10?
- Economics: CES Attendance Declining
- Sling Media Shakeup: Executives Jump Ship
- LG's Wrist Cell Phone Shows Up at CES
- Sony, the Giant, Falling for the First Time
- CBS & Verizon Strike Programming Deal
- Halo 3 Teen Shooter Convicted
- Report: Nintendo DSi Hitting U.S. April 4
- Hacked Modems Seller Lands in Court
- The First LEGO-brick Digital Camera
"At the time of the incident, the 26 year old mother was asleep upstairs. Both her and the 40 year old father are in police custody, charged with child endangerment."
How is this possible? The parents were asleep and can't be blamed for what that child was doing.
@ Milleman
Yes they most certainly can. If they decide to take a nap they need to know where their children are and if necessary lock them in the room with them. I leave my six year old at home to go out on a date with my wife and he burns down the neighbors house is it my fault? I can't be blamed for what the child was doing right???
Sad thing is video games are being blamed for this. Perhaps if the parents were paying a spec of attention to what their children were doing they wouldn't allow them to play clearly labeled M rated games.
Lets see... Allowing a 6 year old boy to be more responsible than the mother, the fact that a 6 year old got out of bed by himself and did all the preperations to go outside and look for the school bus. Putting things in reach of a young kid that couldn't endager his life without supervision. Oh yea, lets not forget the fact that the kid is playing a video game intended for a mature mind, which involves drugs, sex, violence. Not appropriate for a growing mind like that, a 6 year old wouldnt have the sense of right and wrong like a 26 year old would. Clearly in this case he did...
Of course it's the parents fault. The first and foremost point is that they were not conscious enough to prepare the child for school. Excuse me if this sounds a little harsh, but more day by day I'm believing parents should require a license to have children. -Take responsibility for your actions.
That 6 year old is going places. I hope he people haven't already head hunted him for internships when he is in college.
The parents were asleep while the kid was awake, thats negligence, not that i disagree that the charges are very harsh. The state are assholes for even doing this not to the parents but to the kids. Taking parents away from kids is the worst thing you can do. Foster homes are a good program but it takes away from the emotional value the kids have from growing up with them. I say give them a 2nd chance, hell that kid wants to learn so bad i say congrats to the parents for keeping him motivated.
any ideas at what speed he was going at?
and 100% agree with zeriah, the kid's superego is still in its development stage according to freud, so the kid should not be left unpunished... AND WHY THE HELL DOES HE HAVE ACCESS TO GTA, ARE HIS PARENTS RETARDED? theres alotta controversy about violent games having an bad influence, but they have more of a negative influence on children, and worse, on complete retards
o and uh... i should start playing gta... im 20 and i still dont have my permit -_- MTA FTW
THis will be used by antigame peeps but its 100% the parents fault. The real question is at 6 how the hell did he reach the peddle.
"The real question is at 6 how the hell did he reach the peddle."
The article left out that both parents are naturally 9 feet tall.
"26 year old mother was asleep upstairs. Both her and the 40 year old father "
Theres clue 1
Clue 2 is allowing to play M rated games.
Clue 3, child wants to go to school to not end up like parents.
*hits pole* "start you piece of crap"..... *enter/exit button* *sprint button* *check map*
i wonder if he tried hijacking another car like gta?
Anyone here thinks that children can be and should be controlled all time? 0(zero) errors is that possible?
What a bunch of Pussies all of you are. Clint Eastwood seems to the last remaining American...
"At the time of the incident, the 26 year old mother was asleep upstairs. Both her and the 40 year old father are in police custody, charged with child endangerment."
How is this possible? The parents were asleep and can't be blamed for what that child was doing.
LOL ARE YOU RETADED?
Lmfao. yeah that kids going places alright
.... he'll be the next nascar champion or w/e.
and for all those anti-game people. its not the game you dumb sh*ts. it the parents; if anything the game should be praised for teaching the kid to drive. yes it has violence, so what? real life is just the same. you might not be able to massacre people and all that like in grand theft auto but theres still prostitutes being killed all the time and random spates of serial killing.
bottom line(i got off course)....
ITS NOT THE GAME ITS THE PARENTS FAULT!!!
No one commenting on the age gap between the parents? Lol, 26 and 40. Sounds like a great marriage.
No one commenting on the age gap between the parents? Lol, 26 and 40. Sounds like a great marriage........................That's only 14 years difference,there's millions of couples together with that age gap..........or more,age should not come into play on this,it's these two people specifically,one 26,the other 40 and neither are responsible enough at their age to be parents.....
You people are pussies. The kid learned how to drive and the real world in a safe do-overable environment. The parents have more time to rest resulting less stress at work and at home. East Asian students are already learning college courses at high school and here in the west, people stood by their parents' development schedule.
Too bad I can't see your dob on your profile. You sound inexperienced with relationships, as a 14 year gap is actually very significant, especially in terms of the electra/oedipus complex.
My parents are 15 years apart and never once did I have any incidents such as this, my parents were always there for me growing up and will always be there for me if I am in need (I'm now 30 years old with a child of my own, paying my own mortgage, etc.). Seems more like people in general should judge on a case by case basis, instead of sterotyping immediately, because they see something they're uncomfortable with.
This is one of those times you have to just shake your head at the parents for ever giving birth and feel sorry for the child having to grow up in an environment such as this. There is no way the child should have had access to "M-rated" games in the first place. The blame lays soley at the feet of the parents, no matter what age they are. I won't let my kid play games such as GTA, but not because I have something against the game itself (I personally enjoyed GTA4).. but because it's not suited for children. Any parent worth a salt would know this.
Chalk it up to terrible parents.. not age differences, not the game itself, but to sheer ignorance and inability to act like a responsible parent, which includes waking up and getting your child ready for school.
Have you married a 15 year old? Age doesn't matter for marriages, yeah right.
How exactly did a 6 year old reach the peddles and see over the dash? Monster Kid?
Rofl
OK, I'm guessing the kid was playing these games on XBox or PS3 (or Wii)... no steering wheel... no gas pedal... no brake
The kid didn't hit anybody for extra points...didn't pull an oozy out to shoot pedestrians..
How exactly did the video game teach this kid to drive and does the fact he didn't rob anyone on the way count as a learning disability if he did?
(that's called sarcasm people.. obviously he learned to drive somewhere else and video games are getting the blame/credit for it)
I'd like to make a point to all those anti-gaming people out there. First off, it was (as stated by many people) the parents fault for allowing the child do play a clearly rated M game, and for having the keys to the car in a place accessible to the child. Now,we all know what games like GTA are, very violent and full of explicit material. I have nothing against it, but I like how the headline of the article puts a negative light on GTA in particular. Of all the thing this kid could have picked up from the game, he only learned how to drive. Now I don't know this kid personally, but it's not like he hijacked someones car or beat up a guy. He simply wanted to get to school. On that note, he could have picked up the ability to drive from any other driving simulator. The only other thing this game could have done was MAYBE impair his decision making of right and wrong, but then again, he IS 6 years old. Maybe any other 6 year old would have done the same thing if they believed they could drive as well? On that note, although there's a lot of destruction that can be done in the game, thank god he wasn't playing something like Need for Speed, or he might have been speeding. If anything, this proves that games are NOT as influential as they are put out to be.
If a 6 year old boy could drive that far without taking any lessons then, the minimum age to drive could be lowered. Hail video Games.
This kid is doing everything right that today's kids should be doing, all except the stealing the car thing. I only wish more kids were actually interested in going to school, eating right, and being physically active. This one obviously was seeing that he didn't want to miss breakfast or gym. He might have learned it from doing all the wrong things like playing Grand Theft Auto, and he might have borrowed the car to go to school, but the enthusiasm is most definitely commendable. I won't comment on anything like the parents' age difference, but they do need to make sure he's not stealing their car!
My brother went for a joy ride when he was 8... and this was well before video games. Some kids just aren't afraid of anything, they see dad or mom driving and think "Hey... I can do that!"
The parents look to have issues... I know I wouldn't let my 13 year old play GTA, much less a 6 year old.
They serve breakfast at school? I want to go to that school. Maybe I'm just hungry though, I bet the food sucks.
I don't watch television anymore due to the mentality that those in the media have. Blame video games for everything? I blame the media. They've been banned.
I dont see how this casts video games in a positive light.
The 6 year old has driving skills.... he made it 6/7 miles!! Where did he get them? GTA.
This gives me hope for the future generation! I think its awesome a 6 year old can learn how to drive from a video game.