WEBER COUNTY, Utah (ABC4 News) – When Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Rick Morgan pulled over the driver of an SUV struggling to stay in their lane on I-15 Monday, he suspected the driver may be impaired or having a medical issue. But he was wrong.
Trooper Morgan said when he walked up to the window and saw the driver, it was among the strangest things he’s seen in his 24 years of experience.
Trooper Morgan tells ABC4 News it was about 11:45 a.m. and he had just clocked a speeder at 88 MPH. He pulled out to initiate a traffic stop on the violator. While making his way south on I-15 he saw the driver of the small SUV struggling to maintain a single lane through a curve on the roadway.
He decided to forgo stopping the speeder and instead initiate a traffic stop.
Trooper Morgan said when he approached the driver-side of the vehicle on foot, he noted that it was strange he couldn’t see the head of the driver from the rear window. The explanation for that was made clear quickly..the driver was a very young boy.
UHP said the 5-year-old driver told Trooper Morgan he was on his way to California to a relative’s home. The boy intended to buy a Lamborghini sports car with the money, $3 dollars, that he had in his wallet, UHP added.
Trooper Morgan and assisting troopers were able to locate the boy’s parents and get him and their SUV home safely.
According to UHP, the family reported that the boy’s older sibling was watching him that morning, the sibling fell asleep when the boy took the keys off of a hook in their home.
The 5-year-old started the vehicle and began his short journey from near 17th and Lincoln in Ogden to southbound I-15, the correct path to California near milepost 342 where he was stopped by Trooper Morgan.
UHP estimates the 5-year old traveled 2 to 3 miles. Fortunately, no one was hurt and no property was found damaged during his short outing, UHP said.
At this time, no citations have been issued and no charges filed on the boy or his family. UHP will forward the reports and other evidence from this incident to the Weber County Attorney’s office for screening.