4-Year-Old Girl Drives Tuk-Tuk in Busy Chinese Market, Causes Mayhem

The latest from China is an accident that took place in the Cangnan county, Zhejiang province, when a 4-year-old girl got behind the wheel of her father’s tuk tuk. According to reports from the local media cited by the Daily Mail, she “accidentally” started the engine and drove off.

The result was captured on CCTV cameras in the market. She drove the tuk-tuk into stalls, with 2 people falling under the wheels and the third being hit.

The good news is that the girl wasn’t harmed. The police are now investigating the accident and will probably hold her father responsible for it: the publication says that he was there with her in the market, but was busy at the time unloading some boxes.

In other words, he left the keys in the ignition, which allowed the girl to hop in and start the engine.

“One person suffered fractures while two other sustained minor injuries and were taken to hospital,” the Mail says. “The culprit - the four-year-old girl in a pink dress - was seen tumbling down from the driver's seat. She was able to stand up after the vehicle stopped, appearing unhurt.”

Incidents caused by children at the wheel are not as uncommon as they should be, unfortunately. Just this weekend, a video emerged of a 5-year-old boy driving his father’s Volkswagen on a Chinese highway, while the dad sat in the passenger seat, filming him. This time, the parent was the one to hand the minor the keys and the vehicle.

The father then uploaded the video to the kid’s nursery chat room to brag about his skills, and it eventually made its way to the police. He is currently under investigation.