9-year-old driving to California with younger sister crashes into truck

A 9-year-old tried to drive to California for a vacation — with her little sister as a passenger, Utah police said.

The 9-year-old got behind the wheel Wednesday until she ran into a semi truck, West Valley City Police told news outlets. Her 4-year-old sister was in the car with her, according to Fox 13.

The girl had sideswiped another car while driving on an on-ramp, KUTV reported. The driver in a semi truck watched the car swerve and thought the driver may have been under the influence.

“He followed that car and then that driver ended up pulling into him as well,” Lt. Bill Merritt with the West Valley City Police Department told KSL. “Both of their vehicles were disabled and he discovered that the driver of the other vehicle was not impaired but was a 9-year-old female.”

The children told officials that they were planning to drive to California “because they wanted to go on vacation,” KUTV reported. The drive from West Valley City to the Nevada-California state line is nearly nine hours long, according to Google Maps.

Both girls were wearing seat belts, KSL reported, and they weren’t seriously injured.