Police arrest 12-year-old boy who drove 800 miles across Australia
Police have slammed the brakes on a 12-year-old boy who managed to drive a staggering 800 miles across Australia by himself.
The boy had set off from his home in Kendall on the east coast of the country when he was stopped by traffic police on Saturday on the Barrier Highway (above) near the remote mining town of Broken Hill.
Police said he was only pulled over – nearly a third of his way across the country – because a bumper bar was dragging along the ground.
The boy was driving to the city of Perth, more than 2,500 miles from Kendall and sitting on the west coast of Australia.
His whole journey would have taken around 40 hours if he travelled non-stop.
The boy managed to avoid being stopped for as long as he did because he reportedly looks older than his years, with the manager of a petrol station in the town of Cobar saying that he looked “maybe 19 or 20”.
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Detective Inspector Kim Fehon said: “His parents reported him missing immediately after he left home, so they were looking for him.”
Police have not said why he wanted to drive to Perth, but a NSW Police spokesman told the BBC it was possible he could face charges under the Young Offenders Act.
His parents picked him up on Sunday.
Top pic: Flickr/stock photo