10-Year-Old Tennessee Boy Drives Mom’s Car Home From School, Leaving Her Behind

A 911 call from a frantic Tennessee mother led police to discover her 10-year-old son had driven the family car home from school, leaving her behind after a “disagreement.”

The Mt. Juliet Police Department said officers responded to W.A. Wright Elementary School at around 1 p.m. Friday after a 911 caller reported her vehicle had been stolen with her child inside. The woman told officers she had stepped inside the school to drop off paperwork, leaving her 10-year-old son inside the running vehicle. When she came back outside, the vehicle and her son were gone.

A witness reported seeing the vehicle back out “recklessly,” nearly hitting another car and jumping a curb before speeding toward Lebanon Road.

School Resource Officers with the Wilson County Sheriff’s Department and Mt. Juliet police officers initiated a search of the surrounding area, while detectives worked with school officials to review surveillance footage. The video revealed that no one entered the vehicle before it pulled away from the school, leading investigators to consider the child may have driven away himself.

Officers visited the family’s residence on Montrose Drive and saw the vehicle parked inside an open garage, where it had struck a refrigerator. They found the child was safe with his father, “who was confused that the child arrived home without the mother,” police said.

Police said the child told officers he had driven home after a “disagreement” with his mother.

“Our team responded swiftly and effectively, working closely with Wilson County Schools and Wilson County Sheriff SROs to review video and gather facts as quickly as possible,” said Chief Tyler Chandler. “Im incredibly thankful that the child was found safe and unharmed. This incident is a clear example of the strong partnership we have with Wilson County Schools and SROs. That close collaboration ensures any incident at one of our area schools receives a rapid, coordinated response that prioritizes the safety and well-being of every child.”

Because the incident took place on school property, the investigation is being handled by the Wilson County Sheriffs Office School Resource Officers.

While at the family’s home, however, police learned the boy’s father had an outstanding warrant for wire fraud out of Nashville, and he was taken into custody.