Man let 11-year-old girl drive herself to school in stolen car, police say
A man let an 11-year-old girl drive herself to school with a younger boy in the backseat, according to Chicago-area police, who later found out the vehicle driven by the child was stolen.
Now police can't locate Khafilu Oshodi, the 31-year-old seen in the passenger seat of a vehicle pulling into Murphy Elementary School in the northern Chicago suburb of Round Lake on Jan. 9, local authorities said.
The young girl who attends the school and is related to Oshodi was behind the wheel police said, citing eyewitness accounts. The kid driver had to navigate "a dozen really, really bad scenarios" in the school's vicinity before arriving safely to park in a lot near the building, said Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko.
"You’ve got parents walking kids across the street. Kids walking kids," Filenko said. "There’s crossing guards, but that’s not going to do any good if someone loses control of the car."
What's more, the police chief said: The neighborhood surrounding the school is uncurbed, meaning an out-of-control 11-year-old could have swerved onto a lawn and into a house – or worse.
After the girl parked, she exited the car and the little boy, age 9, hopped out of the backseat, witnesses told police.
"He slid over as soon as the kids got out and sped away," Filenko said.
Now police can't find the man.
He's wanted for two counts of child endangerment and for driving himself on a suspended license. The car Oshodi let the girl drive was reported stolen by a Chicago rental car company days later, on Jan. 14, Filenko added.
While police have been unable to reach Oshodi, the police chief said he's glad no accident occurred.
“Regardless of the fact, it’s irresponsible," Filenko said, saying a child's lack of reflexes could turn the car into "a several thousand-pound weapon."
Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner
More: 'Well-respected' principal arrested for alleged sex acts with students
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man let 11-year-old girl drive herself to school in stolen car, police say
