He may drive better than most adults--but police are irked over an 11-year-old boy discovered driving the highways of Southern California. The boy even made a freeway connection before sheriffs caught up to what was dubbed a "reckless" driver, plus a companion driver. One boyfriend's looking at $100,000 bail.
Well, the driving skills may be a little bit up for debate -- but the young boy did manage to change freeways, and that's hard for many adults. The debatable part comes into play considering that police found the young driver because of some 911 calls pertaining to a "reckless driver" that had been spotted on the freeways.
For some inexplicable reason, a man apparently told his his girlfriend’s 11-year-old son to drive a car -- in a "tour" that included Interstate 15 and Highway 395. Fortunately it was a lazy Sunday and in the afternoon when the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Victor Valley station was alerted about a child driver allegedly driving the Southern California freeway system.
When cops pulled the car over on the 395, a second car -- in front of the "reckless" driver was also pulled over. No word on why officers pulled over both cars, but the vehicle first in line suddenly took off again on the 395. And there was reason: The car in front was driven by one Terry Michael Varner, a.k.a., boyfriend to the 11-year-old boy's mother, and he had asked the boy to drive the vehicle.
The kid was booted from the driver's seat, the vehicle towed -- and the boy carted off to the Victor Valley sheriff’s station for a Child Protective Services call. Fortunately for the 11-year-old, the 'driver for a day' was released to his mom. Unfortunately for the mom's boyfriend, he was carted off to another place: 51-year-old Varner was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and booked into the Victor Valley Jail. Either Victorville is really, really hard on first-time child abusers or there's a possibility of a previous criminal record: Varner's looking at $100,000 bail related to a "willful cruelty to a child resulting in possible injury or death" charge. Looks like he may be sitting there awhile.
While the boyfriend's pondering life and raising that hundred grand in bail -- or the ten grand he'll be out through any bail bondsman -- perhaps he'll come up with a reason as to why he instructed the young boy to head out on a freeway joyride.