Police in Mechelen (Antwerp province) stopped a car that had been spotted zigzagging across one of the city’s roads. The driver of the vehicle had not had one to many but was a 13-year-old boy that had taken his mother’s car out on to the road without her knowing.
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Police in Mechelen catch 13-year-old boy joyriding in his mother’s car
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On Thursday evening an officer from the Rivierenland Local Police Service was on his way home from his shift when he saw another motorist parked at the side of the road. Although it was dark, the vehicle’s headlights were switched off. Both the off-duty police officer and the other vehicle were on the Liersesteenweg, the main road between Mechelen and Lier.
The policeman contacted his colleagues. However, when they arrived the car set off along the road. Elke Wauters of the Rivierenland Local Police Service told VRT News that "The vehicle was swerving from left to right over the road and it stopped several times. The driver also failed to use his indicators when he changed lanes. So it was something that stood out”.
A traffic police team was called and was able to intercept the vehicle and check the identity of its driver. "It then transpired that the driver was only 13 years old. Given his age, he of course didn’t have a driving licence and he didn’t have his identity card with him either”, Ms Wauters said.
The police spokeswoman added that "Crime reports will be drafted and send to the public prosecutor’s office”. The boy had taken the car without his mother’s knowledge.