Eight-Year-Old Drives Sister to McDonald's After Learning to Drive on YouTube

Police officers in eastern Ohio were taken by surprise last Sunday when concerned bystanders called them to a local restaurant. According to reports, two young children had just entered the restaurant - with the older child driving the car into the parking lot.

When questioned by the officers, the boy confidently replied that he knew how to drive and was taking his little sister to the local McDonald's to buy hamburgers for themselves.

How exactly did he learn to drive? The eight-year-old had a straightforward answer for that too. "I watched videos on YouTube that explain how to drive," he told the officers. "I know exactly what to do."

It turned out that the brother and sister had snuck out of the house under the cover of night after their parents went to sleep.

During their three-kilometer drive to the restaurant, the child successfully navigated around trucks and crossed intersections while adhering to all the rules. Concerned passersby called the police after spotting the small figure at the wheel, but everyone acknowledged that the boy made sure to drive at the legal speed and didn't break any traffic laws.

When the pair arrived at the restaurant, the boy used cash from his savings to pay for the hamburgers. "The restaurant staff thought the parents were in the back part of the restaurant, but of course, that wasn’t the case," explained Officer Jacob Kohler, one of the policemen who arrived to solve the mystery.

A family friend in the area contacted the children's grandparents, who then reached out to the parents. The brother and sister were eating their hamburgers while waiting for their parents to pick them up.

No investigation will be launched against the parents, by the way. The officers unanimously agreed that they couldn't have anticipated such an independent venture from their kids. "But it was definitely an enlightening case," said Kohler, adding: "With the way technology works today, kids can learn anything. This boy learned from the internet how to drive. He probably watched a five-minute video and felt ready to hit the road."