Phoenix man let 10-year-old son drive pickup truck on freeway, police say

PHOENIX (AP) — A man has been arrested after allowing his 10-year-old son to drive a pickup truck on a Phoenix-area freeway, authorities said Sunday.

Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said the boy led troopers on a brief pursuit Saturday afternoon — weaving and speeding on State Route 101 in Scottsdale — before being pulled over.

DPS said the child’s 49-year-old father was in the passenger seat. The Phoenix man was booked into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office jail on suspicion of endangerment, unlawfully permitting a minor to drive and having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle.

A motorist called 911 around 3:30 p.m. and said it appeared a child was driving the truck on the freeway, according to DPS.

A trooper spotted the vehicle and tried to stop it after seeing the driver changing lanes unsafely.

DPS officials said the truck failed to stop and the trooper pursued it before the child driver pulled over in an emergency lane.

According to DPS, the 10-year-old boy isn’t facing any charges.

Sheriff’s officials didn’t immediately return a call Sunday regarding whether the father was still jailed or released on bond.