9-Year-Old Leads CHP on Unlikely Chase in Oroville [Oroville, CA]

OROVILLE, CA (March 28, 2024) — In an event that reads more like a script from a family movie, a 9-year-old from Oroville took law enforcement on a brief chase after deciding to drive himself to school. 

The Oroville car chase happened on a Wednesday morning when a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer noticed a sedan stopped oddly in the middle of Grand Avenue and 4th Street around 9:20 a.m.

As the officer approached and signaled for the vehicle to proceed, the car instead accelerated away, leading to a “short and erratic chase” that concluded in a dirt parking lot near Plumas Avenue Elementary School. In a surprising turn of events, the vehicle reversed suddenly, colliding with the patrol car, resulting in minor damage to both vehicles but no injuries.

The driver, discovered to be a 9-year-old boy, explained to officers that he had taken his mother’s car intending to drive himself to school. The child was safely sent off to school after officials documented the incident and alerted the necessary authorities.