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Six-year-old boy in Nebraska takes wheel after dad passes out
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By The Associated Press
NORTH PLATTE, Nebraska - Police in Nebraska say a six-year-old boy grabbed the wheel of his family's pickup truck when his father passed out from low blood sugar, keeping the vehicle from crashing until an officer could bring it to a halt.
Tustin Mains was in the back seat with his three-year-old brother Sunday when his father, Phillip Mains, slumped over at the wheel, the boy told police. The family had been driving home from a restaurant.
Tustin leapt into his father's lap so he could steer and see out the windshield.
Mains' foot had slipped off the accelerator, but even at idle the Chevrolet Avalanche was going an estimated 16-24 kilometres an hour, police said.
The kindergartner steered the truck several blocks, even turning around when he entered a neighbourhood he didn't recognize, until he was spotted by police.
North Platte officer Roger Freeze ran up to the moving pickup, reached through an open window and rammed the gearshift into park.
When he saw his dad "fall asleep," Tustin said, he got scared, then got another fright when officer Freeze appeared at the truck's window.
But when Freeze abruptly stopped the pickup?
"I was just happy," Tustin said.
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By The Associated Press
NORTH PLATTE, Nebraska - Police in Nebraska say a six-year-old boy grabbed the wheel of his family's pickup truck when his father passed out from low blood sugar, keeping the vehicle from crashing until an officer could bring it to a halt.
Tustin Mains was in the back seat with his three-year-old brother Sunday when his father, Phillip Mains, slumped over at the wheel, the boy told police. The family had been driving home from a restaurant.
Tustin leapt into his father's lap so he could steer and see out the windshield.
Mains' foot had slipped off the accelerator, but even at idle the Chevrolet Avalanche was going an estimated 16-24 kilometres an hour, police said.
The kindergartner steered the truck several blocks, even turning around when he entered a neighbourhood he didn't recognize, until he was spotted by police.
North Platte officer Roger Freeze ran up to the moving pickup, reached through an open window and rammed the gearshift into park.
When he saw his dad "fall asleep," Tustin said, he got scared, then got another fright when officer Freeze appeared at the truck's window.
But when Freeze abruptly stopped the pickup?
"I was just happy," Tustin said.