YouTube is a cornucopia of tutorial videos. You can learn everything from how to change the brakes on your car (I did once) to how to contour your nose with makeup. I’ve never heard of anyone using a tutorial to learn how to drive, but apparently an 8-year-old boy from Ohio did, just so he could drive himself and his 4-year-old sister to McDonald’s for a cheeseburger.
On Sunday the 8-year-old took the keys to their father’s van, hopped in with his younger sister, and off they went on their merry way. That tutorial must have been a good one because according to East Palestine, Ohio, Patrolman Jacob Koehler, the little boy obeyed all of the traffic laws and didn’t get into an accident during the mile-and-a-half drive.
When the kid arrived at the McDonald’s, the drive-thru-window associate thought the whole thing was a prank, but the joke was on them. The boy was serious AF about getting his cheeseburger.
“I think there is a good teaching point here. With the way technology is anymore, kids will learn how to do anything and everything. This kid learned how to drive on YouTube. He probably looked it up for five minutes and then said it was time to go,” Koehler said.
While the kids were cruising the streets, the parents were home sound asleep. A friend of the family alerted authorities after seeing the little boy. The parents won’t be charged with neglect.