8-Year-Old Girl in the US Secretly Drives Mom's Car 16km to Large Mart

After Quarreling with Sister, Left Home with Pet Dog
Police Tracked Destination and Found Them After 2 Hours

An 8-year-old girl in the United States made headlines after driving her mother's car without any accidents to a large supermarket about 16 km away from home. On the 4th (local time), the United States New York Times (NYT) reported that 8-year-old Joy Wilson, who lives in Bedford, Ohio, became an internet star after it was revealed that she drove herself last month to the large discount store 'Target' about 10 miles (approximately 16 km) from her home.

The appearance of the large American store 'Target'. [Photo by AP Yonhap News]

At the time, Joy, upset after an argument with her older sister the night before, secretly left the house around 7 a.m. on Sunday morning carrying her mother's car keys, wallet, and ID. Joy decided to drive somewhere out of anger but had not set a destination. Then, after accidentally dropping and cracking her tablet PC as she left the house, she decided to go to Target to buy a new case. Joy took her pet dog and drove her mother's sport utility vehicle (SUV) for about 20 minutes to Target, which was about 10 miles away. However, after some difficulties upon arrival, Joy was unable to decide which case to choose and reportedly looked around toys and cosmetics instead.

Joy's mother and two older sisters did not suspect that Joy had driven anywhere herself even after realizing that both Joy and the car were missing. As a third grader, Joy naturally had no driving experience. Joy's family, neighbors, and police thought she was missing and searched the nearby area. They were able to locate Joy's position after obtaining footage of her in the car.

First, Bedford police received a missing child report, followed by another report stating "there is a child driving east on Loxside Road." A nearby private vehicle driver contacted the police, saying, "The car is swerving and changing directions," and "the driver looks like a child." Police then searched for Joy and the vehicle and found her at the Target store, contacting the family to pick her up. Joy did not injure anyone or cause an accident during the 10-mile drive, but she said "the car hit a mailbox."

Joy's story, found at Target two hours after leaving home, became a major topic on social media and in the press. The NYT reported, "Many people were amazed at how such a young child could arrive at the intended store without hurting anyone." Joy was not punished for this incident. Joy's mother said that when she met Joy at Target, she told her "I love you" and "I hope nothing happened to you." The NYT also reported that she explained to her daughter how dangerous and serious the situation was.