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Shuswap toddler takes SUV for a not-so-joyful ride

Mother dragged trying to rescue child, RCMP report neither injured
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Chase toddler inadvertently takes vehicle for a spin. (File photo)

A Chase toddler gave her mother a panic when she inadvertently took the family SUV for a spin.

Calls that Chase RCMP responded to in September included a runaway vehicle with a toddler in the driver’s seat.

Police officers and ambulance paramedics were called about 5 p.m. on Sept. 4, where they found that a newer model Chevrolet Tahoe had rolled down a steep driveway into a vacant lot below.

“The mother explained that she and her daughter had just returned from a shopping trip and, while she was unloading the vehicle, her toddler stood on the driver’s seat. The toddler managed to pull the vehicle out of park into neutral, allowing the vehicle to roll down the driveway. The mother noticed immediately and attempted to stop the vehicle but was dragged along with it,” Sgt. Barry Kennedy reported.

The vehicle came to a safe stop in the vacant lot below and, luckily, neither mother nor daughter were injured.

Police said there may have been a mechanical issue that allowed the vehicle to shift into gear without having the brake pedal depressed.

Read more: RCMP request public’s help locating South Shuswap break-in suspect

Read more: Unlicensed driver blocks Highway 1 in Shuswap with uninsured RV



marthawickett@saobserver.net
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Martha Wickett

About the Author: Martha Wickett

came to Salmon Arm in May of 2004 to work at the Observer. I was looking for a change from the hustle and bustle of the Lower Mainland, where I had spent more than a decade working in community newspapers.
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