Rush-hour crash reveals 10-year-old driving on Florida interstate, cops say

A 10-year-old child took a relative’s car and ended up in a rush-hour crash on Florida’s Interstate 275, according to investigators.

The identity of the juvenile driver was not revealed, but the crash resulted in the suspect suffering minor injuries, the Florida Highway Patrol reported in a news release.

It happened just around 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 18, near the intersection of Interstate 275 and Interstate 375 in St. Petersburg, officials said. St. Petersburg is southwest of Tampa.

Investigators say the child was driving a Nissan Altima north on Interstate 275 when the vehicle sped up to overtake a Ford F250 pickup, “sideswiping” the truck.

The Altima “rotated and collided with the bridge rail along the outside shoulder of the roadway,” troopers say. The truck “came to a controlled stop.”

“Driver 2, a 27-year-old Wimauma man, and his two adult male passengers were uninjured during the incident,” troopers say.

The child lives in St. Petersburg and “had taken the vehicle from a family member without permission,” officials said.

Detectives did not reveal where the child was headed in the vehicle or how long the car had been missing.

This story was originally published January 19, 2024 at 7:27 AM with the headline "Rush-hour crash reveals 10-year-old driving on Florida interstate, cops say."