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A 12-year-old went on joy ride in his brother's car, but it didn't end up the way he planned.
The seventh-grader had been driving his brother and friend around since early this morning, but that ride ended when he crashed into a tree.
Nobody's first time driving is ever perfect. And today, 12-year-old Pedro Molina learned that the hard way.
"I did a sharp turn because I was going to surprise my friend. I don't know, I was just going to do it. I reacted, then pushed the gas more. That's when I hit the tree," Molina said.
Salt Lake City police arrived on scene minutes after the crash. "It doesn't appear to be a high rate of speed. Fortunately there were no injuries that needed treatment at all," said Salt Lake City police Lt. Cal Kunz.
Molina was driving with his 8-year-old brother and a 15-year-old friend in his older brother's car. That older brother is currently in Chicago, but left his keys at home.
This was Molina's first time behind the wheel, but he was often a passenger in the Nissan. "He would always take me to school, and I was wondering how it would feel to drive. It felt kind of fun," Molina said.
So at 8:00 this morning, when nobody was home, Molina decided to take the car for a spin around Glendale and Rose Park. He says everything was fine until he tried to show off and crashed.
"I got scared and ran to my cousin's house. And I was going to run away from my house but, I decided no, it's not worth it," Molina said.
Now the young driver says he's grounded. "My mom was yelling, and my friends [were] scared and my little brother [was] crying," he said.
Molina says he's not looking forward to telling his older brother about his car.
Police gave Molina a citation for underage driving and he will have to go to juvenile court.
E-mail: ngonzales@ksl.com
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
