Six-Year-Old Steals Car, Says Grand Theft Auto Taught Him to Drive

A six-year-old who recently stole his parents' car and drove it into a utility pole has passed the buck onto a familiar scapegoat: the video game, Grand Theft Auto.

Rockstar Games' controversial Grand Theft Auto video game series has been accused of many things in the past. Its violent gameplay, including car heists, bank heists, beatings, shootings, and absentee law enforcement, has been criticized by parent groups and crusaders (or in the eyes of gamers, nincompoops) like former lawyer Jack Thompson for years (Thompson once tried to link the Virginia Tech slayings to late-night Counterstrike sessions. He's since been disbarred). However, not as of yet has anyone under the age of, oh, ten, blamed the game for a car theft.

Perhaps that should be clarified. The six-year-old Virginia tyke didn't actually blame Grand Theft Auto for the car heist, but did tell authorities afterwards that the game taught him how to drive. Early Monday morning, the little guy hopped into his parents' Ford Taurus instead of taking the big yellow bus, and managed to drive it a surprising six miles before slipping over an embankment into a utility pole not far from school. According to reports, he passed several cars, made a pair of ninety-degree turns, and generally drove just as people do in the game. (Source: g4tv.com)

Thankfully, the boy emerged from the incident with just a few scratches and actually resumed his journey to school on foot after the accident took place.

In all likelihood, the video game, the Taurus, and the child's parents will take the brunt of the punishment in the wake of this event. Although the parents have been charged with child endangerment (the tot swiped the keys while his mother slept), the story is making headlines because of its association with the game. (Source: gamespot.com)

Here's hoping that the parents who allowed a child to see (let alone play) Grand Theft Auto will attract more attention that the award-winning video game (which anyone will admit, should only be played by adults). That might just be the case -- the boy and his four-year-old brother have since been placed in protective custody.