Two young sisters from Utah crashed their parents' car while attempting to drive to California so they could swim in the ocean.
The vehicle, driven by a 9-year-old with her 4-year-old sister as a passenger, collided with a tractor-trailer at 3200 West and South Frontage Road early on Wednesday morning in West Valley City after the girls took the car from their home around 10 miles away in West Jordan.
The vehicle was seriously damaged in the collision, but the two girls and the driver of the truck weren't injured.
"Officers got quite a surprise when they responded to an accident this morning and discovered the driver was a 9yo girl," the West Valley City Police Department tweeted while sharing a video from the scene.
"The young girl & her 4yo sister apparently snagged the keys to the family car while their parents were sleeping & set out on their own summer adventure."
Police said the girls managed to drive a highway and a freeway before "exiting off, hopping a median and slamming head-on" into a semi truck.
"The car suffered serious damage. Even the semi had to be towed," West Valley City Police added.
"Thankfully, though, no one got hurt, we suspect in large part because those little girls at least remembered to wear their seatbelts!
"So, what prompted this impromptu trip? The girls told officers that they were headed to California because they wanted to 'swim in the ocean.'"
Detective Scott List of the West Jordan Police Department said both parents were asleep at the time the sisters took the car at about 3 a.m.
List told KUTV that the car's keys were hung up in a place that is "not normally accessible by children."
The parents told police there are latches on all the doors except for one in the basement, which is where the two sisters exited from their home.
West Valley City Police are investigating the crash, with West Jordan Police probing how the girls managed to get the car and drive away in the first place.
"The parents are horrified and shocked, they didn't know that their kids were gone," List told ABC 4.
"It doesn't look like this is a neglect issue, it looks like this is something that could have happened to anybody. We've got some curious kids who were excited about swimming with dolphins in California and figured out how to drive the car."
West Valley City Police and West Jordan Police have been contacted for an update.
