Car at gas pump takes off with only a 4-year-old inside and crashes, NC cops say

A 4-year-old went on a dangerous solo spin in the family car when it took off with no one behind the wheel and crashed, according to investigators in North Carolina.

It happened just after 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8, at a gas station in Aberdeen, according to the Aberdeen Police Department.

“The father went inside the store while leaving the juvenile in the vehicle at the gas pumps. The vehicle was left in neutral, not park,” police officials said in a news release.

“The vehicle rolled across the parking lot then across the roadway, and down a steep embankment.”

A witness reported the father initially believed his Mercedes had been stolen, only to discover it had crashed adjacent to an Aberdeen Public Works facility on the other side of NC 211, the Sandhills Sentinel reports.

Speeds in the area are 45 mph, and maps show the embankment is densely forested.

“The father was charged with misdemeanor child abuse and leaving the vehicle unattended/unsecure,” police said. “The juvenile ... was not injured.”

Aberdeen is about a 70-mile drive southwest from downtown Raleigh.

This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 8:15 AM with the headline "Car at gas pump takes off with only a 4-year-old inside and crashes, NC cops say."