An 11-year-old boy was stopped by officers after police received calls about an impaired driver on Highway 400 on Saturday night.
There were several reports of an erratic driver swerving all over Highway 400 around 11 p.m., according to Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.
“We got multiple calls from witnesses calling in this vehicle all over the highway. Witnesses were actually trying to flash the car.. trying to get their attention,” Schmidt said.
Witnesses spotted the vehicle heading north on Highway 400. The vehicle got off the highway at King Road, he said, spun around and started going south on Highway 400.
OPP officers were able to get in front of the vehicle, which was travelling at about 50 kilometres per hour at that time, Schmidt said.
The vehicle then accelerated to well over the speed limit, Schmidt said, over 120 to 130 kilometres per hour. It stopped and officers attempted to speak to the driver.
When they approached the vehicle, they noticed the driver looked young. The vehicle took off again, but with the help of more officers, Schmidt said they were able to safely stop it on Highway 400 between Teston and King roads.
The boy was taken back to his parents and the vehicle was towed back to his home.
Schmidt said he had just finished playing Grand Theft Auto, a popular video game, and wanted to find out what it was like to drive a car.
“It doesn't matter what kind of driving game you're playing. That kind of behaviour is unbelievably dangerous,” Schmidt said. “In video games people crash and they press reset and they're back to 100 per cent power. In real life, it does not end that way and fortunately there were no injuries in this case, but it easily could have been a very tragic morning for that family.”
