Police catch 9-year-old driving adults, baby in back seat

Dunedin Police pulled over a nine-year-old driving two adults and a baby on Tuesday night. Photo / File

A 9-year-old child was caught by police behind the wheel of a vehicle, with two adults and a baby as passengers.

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said police stopped a vehicle at Bush Rd, Mosgiel, at 6.20pm on Tuesday,

They discovered the child at the wheel, with his father and father’s partner in the passenger seats, as well as the infant in the back seat.

Bond said the adults had been encouraging the child to drive to an address in Mosgiel.

The adults were not intoxicated, and gave no reason for letting the child drive, beyond the fact they had been encouraging him, Bond said.

Infringement notices had been issued to the father for the state of the vehicle, and the incident had been reported to Oranga Tamariki.

In 2020, a 9-year-old boy was stopped by police in Mosgiel while driving his intoxicated father to the bottle store.

The father of the boy was not charged, but referred by police to undertake an alcohol and parenting course.