Toddler takes motorized toy big rig out on busy Fla. highway

A three-year-old boy came dangerously close to having a tragic accident when he was found driving a motorized toy truck on a busy Florida highway, police said. 

Officers responded to a 911 call on Wednesday after the child attempted to enter traffic on U.S. Highway 19 in Crystal River, Fla. where the speed limits reach up to 55 mph, police said, ABC News reported. 

By the time police arrived on the scene, several drivers had formed a blockade around the child, who was sitting behind the wheel of his toy big rig in the median of the highway. 

The boy ended up on the highway after he escaped from his house while his father was using the bathroom. 

The father told police that he left his son alone in the living room while he went to use the bathroom and the boy then hoisted himself onto a small chair to unlock the front door. He said when he called the child’s name and didn’t get an answer, he noticed the door was ajar and immediately rushed to search for him on his bicycle, ABC reported. 

The family’s home is about two blocks from the highway and the boy cut through neighbors yards to take his truck out on the road, Citrus County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lindsay Blair told ABC. 

The child was not struck by traffic on the highway, witnesses told police. One witness used a blanket to cover the boy, who was only wearing a shirt and a diaper as temperatures dipped to about 52 degrees. 

Police said both father and son made it home safely. The Department of Children and Families is now investigating the case. The names of the father and child are being withheld pending the investigation.