posted on July 25, 2003 04:40:09 AM new
This happened only a couple of blocks from my home. For God's sake, keep your keys out of the reach of your young children!
Boy, 5, dies after driving car into tree
07/22/03
Lila J. Mills
Plain Dealer Reporter
A 5-year-old boy has died after driving his grandmother's car into a tree early yesterday.
Joey Parsons, of West 100th Street, died at 9:05 p.m. at MetroHealth Medical Center, the coroner's office reported. The hospital declined to release any additional information.
Joey took the keys to his grandmother's car about 6:30 a.m. as his family slept, police said. With thunder and lightning overhead, he walked about a half-mile along West 100th Street to where his grandmother's green, 1992 Ford Taurus was parked. He unlocked the car, got in, started it and put it in gear, police said.
Almost immediately, the car swerved to the right, hitting a parked car. Then it veered to the left, drove over the curb and hit a tree - coming to a stop just two doors from where it started.
Police do not know how fast Joey was driving or if he wore a seat belt, but the impact caused the air bag to deploy.
Neighbor Bobbie Eiland heard the crash and went outside to see what happened. The car's hood was crushed and the radiator was wrapped around the tree trunk, Eiland said.
"He was the only one in the car, laying on the floor by the gas pedal," Eiland said.
Police did not issue any citations to Joey's family, saying the investigation was continuing.
His family could not be reached for comment.
More on the story:
Family divided over cause of 5-year-old's death
07/23/03
Lila J. Mills
Plain Dealer Reporter
The father of a 5-year-old boy who died Monday when he climbed into his grandmother's car, drove it and then crashed into a tree said his son had many opportunities to mimic grown-up driving.
Joey Parsons Sr. said the boy had a toy Jeep that he could get into, turn a toy key and pretend to drive. Parsons, who had already left for work before the accident, said he was hurt by his mother's implication that an adult in the home was responsible for the boy's death.
Through her tears and sadness, Lavern Maslanka expressed skepticism yesterday that Joey Parsons knew how to drive a car.
"I can't believe that my grandson would drive the car by himself," said Maslanka, the boy's paternal grandmother. "I'm not blaming anybody. I just want police to investigate."
Joey Parsons Jr. died Monday evening from injuries to his head and torso suffered in a car accident Monday about 6:30 a.m. Police said Joey took the keys to his maternal grandmother's 1992 Ford Taurus as other family members slept. Initially, police said the car had been parked four blocks away, but yesterday, Sgt. Jeffrey Tyhulski said the car was parked along the curb across from Joey's West 100th Street home.
Joey got in the car, found the right key among many keys on a large ring and started the engine. He turned on the headlights, put the car in gear and pulled off. He drove about 1,000 feet down the street before hitting a parked car and then ramming into a tree, Tyhulski said.
The impact caused the air bag to deploy.
The boy's father said yesterday that his mother was being divisive at a time of great sorrow and vulnerability.
"Everybody knows it was an accident. He was highly loved," Parsons said. "I'm really hurt that my mom would do this. They should be supportive. Everybody knows it was an accident."
Maslanka and her boyfriend Arnold Guyton said they couldn't believe that Joey - who stood 43 inches tall - could reach the gas and brake pedals or get the car in gear. They said they think an adult started the car with Joey inside and then left him alone with the car running. That's when the boy drove off, they said.
Tyhulski said he has seen young children drive cars.
And Janette Fennell, who founded the organization Kids And Cars, said kids driving "is not as rare as you might think."
"Everything they learn is by mimicking our behavior," she said. "Kids are not being taught that a car is not a toy."
Last week, a 6-year-old Texas boy drove his baby sitter's car about 30 miles looking for his mother. He eventually stopped at a grocery store and asked for help.
And last year, an 8-year-old stole a truck and drove more than 20 miles from Twinsburg to Akron before he was pulled over.
Cheryl
Power to the people. Power to the people, right on. - John Lennon
A 6-year-old boy wanted to see his mother so badly that he snuck behind the wheel of his baby-sitter's Mazda 626,
adjusted the driver's seat and steering wheel height and drove the 25 miles up U.S. 183 before finally coming to a rest -
unharmed, despite striking three cars - in a supermarket parking lot. He then ran inside crying and asking for help.
A car became partially submerged in the lake at Heartwell Park today after a 4-year-old boy put the car into reverse
and it rolled backward into the lake. The boy was alone in the black Chevy Lumina in the driveway of 130 Forest Blvd.
while his mother was preparing to put a younger child into the car, Thoren said.
..........locked the doors and put the running car into reverse. It then rolled backward across Forest Boulevard,
down a hill and into the water.
According to police, Ms. Miano parked her 1988 Chevrolet Suburban and left the car running while she went into a local gas station to buy cigarettes. Her son, who was reportedly left in the vehicle in a child seat behind the driver seat, climbed into the driver seat and proceeded to put the Suburban into gear.
The vehicle then drove forward into the side of the building, stopping about 10 feet from a kerosene pump.
Never underestimate the inventive skill and imagination of a child. Always keep parked cars locked and never leave a child inside a car alone...not even for a second.
posted on July 25, 2003 01:38:59 PM new
An underlying problem is I often see young children now that have no concept at all of restraining their behavior - not as an occasional episode but all day everyday. They might as well be wild animals for all their socialization. They scream and yell in restaurants and if the parents try to say anything they make faces at or even punch their parents. They throw things in a store or restaurant. So with no fear of consequenses why shouldn't they try to drive a car or shoot a gun they find or any dangerous thing find at hand to try? -because they have no fear of punishment or disapproval.
[ edited by gravid on Jul 25, 2003 01:40 PM ]
posted on July 25, 2003 03:28:46 PM new
replaymedia
If you would have read closely the continuation of the story:
Initially, police said the car had been parked four blocks away, but yesterday, Sgt. Jeffrey Tyhulski said the car was parked along the curb across from Joey's West 100th Street home.
I think it's fishy also. My grand daughter is five. Sitting in the seat of the car, she can't see over the dash let alone touch any of the pedals. Most cars need to have the gas pressed to even start them. So, at five he was able to select the right key, put his foot on the gas and then turn the key? Not an easy task for a child that small. But, there have been other instances where a child has been able to accomplish this and more.
My thinking is that either someone left the car running and the child got into the car or someone did a lot of driving with the child on their lap. My grandfather used to put us on his lap when we were young (about 4 or 5 - I shudder thinking about it). We learned how to turn the key and what had to be done to get the car going. Did we ever try it? NO! I was too afraid of my parents and the paddling I would have gotten for even getting into the car without them!
Kids today need to be watched more closely. There's less consquences for reckless behavior (oh how I remember the paddle!), they have toy automated cars, video games, cable TV, computer games and a whole gammut of resources available to them. When I was a child back in the 50's and 60's, a child shooting someone was unheard of. It just didn't happen like it does today.
It's a scary world for parent's these days. I worried raising my children and now I worry about my grand daughter. Geeze, my youngest is 19 and I still worry about him.
Cheryl
Power to the people. Power to the people, right on. - John Lennon
posted on July 25, 2003 04:45:29 PM new
Absolutely.
It's all a matter of personal responsibility... Something that seems to have an ever-dwindling supply of in this country.
-------------------
Replay Media
Games of all kinds!
posted on July 25, 2003 05:56:12 PM new
It would be a simple thing to have a weight sensor in the seat sort of like the dead mans switch on the subway that could disable the car if an underweight driver such as a 5 year old were in the drivers seat. Very similar to the neautral safety switch in a standard transmission in function.
posted on July 27, 2003 07:31:43 AM new
I don't know enough about this particular incident to comment but I do want to mention that I don't need to step on the gas to start my car. Just turn the key - starts right up. (It's a 2000 Nissan Quest.)
I have no idea if this is normal or not - never really gave it much thought.
My driveway has a slight slope. So if a kid got in the car, turned the key and put it in reverse (not touching the gas), it would roll gently down the driveway and into the neighbor's yard where the bushes in front of the house would stop it. (Guess how I know that - except it was my grown sister who did it <grin>.
Also, if the car is on level ground and in 'drive', it will go forward at about 5-10 miles/hour. That's without touching the gas pedal.
posted on July 27, 2003 02:48:44 PM new
I have a '94 Jeep and have to press the gas to properly get the car started. You have to do with with some of the older cars. Her car was a '92 and a Ford to boot. The whole thing still does not sound right at all. Hopefully, an investigation will ensue and the media will deem it important enough to cover. Or, this story may just die off when something else tragic happens.
Cheryl
Power to the people. Power to the people, right on. - John Lennon
posted on July 27, 2003 02:55:43 PM new
I think most vehicles with auto-transmissions have to have the brake pedal depressed before the car can be put into drive.Was the car a stick or auto? I don't know how long this feature has been around, but it seems like years. On the other hand, the kid might have know how to do that. My 10 year old does, but he drives our tractor and the old jeep fairly often. The whole thing's kind of fishy...
___________________________________
What luck for the leaders that men do not think. - Adolph Hitler
posted on July 28, 2003 03:04:47 PM new
actually, if you really read it, its not that far fetched. He could've gotten on the floor (where he was found) and pushed the pedals. OF course he couldn't see out the window and would've hit the tree especially if he grabbed the wheel and made twisting motions like all kids do.
I have to agree about the lake of parental responsibility when it comes to children's behavior nowadays. My son (who was raised by his mother and her husband up until a year ago) has no clue to please, thank yous, napkin in the lap, not talking with your mouth full, letting women through doors first, letting people off elevators before getting on, etc. He has also had to break the habit of referring to my girlfriend and I as "Hey" as is "Hey, can I watch tv?".
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