FULLERTON, Calif. (KTLA) -- An investigation is under way in Fullerton after a 4-year-old boy took his mother's SUV for a joyride and eventually flipped the vehicle and crashed, police said.
The boy's 27-year-old mother told police that she stopped in a parking lot near the Summit House restaurant to use a phone at around 4 p.m. Thursday.
The boy managed to maneuver through rush-hour traffic on State College Boulevard.
He made several turns and went through several intersections, authorities said.
The boy sideswiped other vehicles and crossed into oncoming traffic.
"As I looked, this little boy was standing on the seat, and he had this look of terror in his eyes," witness Danny Guerra told KTLA. "He was trying to control that thing."
"Everybody was trying to avoid him," Guerra said. "As he was going down the hill, other cars were just moving out of the way."
Finally, he crashed through a fence at the back of a fraternity house, rolling the vehicle.
The car landed on its tires, and the boy continued for about a third of a mile before slamming into trees, police said.
The boy was not badly hurt.
He was taken to a local hospital, but has since been released.
"I thought for sure that the airbag would kill him, because he was standing up. He was not strapped in," Guerra said.
"He was very fortunate that, in the end, relatively minor injuries to the boy, no other people injured and even the property damage limited," Sgt. Andrew Goodrich of the Fullerton Police Department told KTLA.
Authorities say they're still trying to figure out if the boy was ever strapped in a car seat, and, if so, how he got out.
It's also not clear if the boy started the car and put it in drive, or whether his mother left the vehicle in gear.
The boy's 27-year-old mother told police that she stopped in a parking lot near the Summit House restaurant to use a phone at around 4 p.m. Thursday.
The boy managed to maneuver through rush-hour traffic on State College Boulevard.
He made several turns and went through several intersections, authorities said.
The boy sideswiped other vehicles and crossed into oncoming traffic.
"As I looked, this little boy was standing on the seat, and he had this look of terror in his eyes," witness Danny Guerra told KTLA. "He was trying to control that thing."
"Everybody was trying to avoid him," Guerra said. "As he was going down the hill, other cars were just moving out of the way."
Finally, he crashed through a fence at the back of a fraternity house, rolling the vehicle.
The car landed on its tires, and the boy continued for about a third of a mile before slamming into trees, police said.
The boy was not badly hurt.
He was taken to a local hospital, but has since been released.
"I thought for sure that the airbag would kill him, because he was standing up. He was not strapped in," Guerra said.
"He was very fortunate that, in the end, relatively minor injuries to the boy, no other people injured and even the property damage limited," Sgt. Andrew Goodrich of the Fullerton Police Department told KTLA.
Authorities say they're still trying to figure out if the boy was ever strapped in a car seat, and, if so, how he got out.
It's also not clear if the boy started the car and put it in drive, or whether his mother left the vehicle in gear.