Auto joyride by 9-year-old ends badly on Boulevard

ROOSEVELT Boulevard is no place for unattended children or inexperienced drivers, so when a 9-year-old took his parents' car for a joyride along one of Philly's most dangerous roads yesterday morning, there were only two ways it could have ended - bad or worse.

Luckily, the boy survived and didn't injure anyone else, but he wrecked the car and landed himself in critical but stable condition at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, said Officer Tanya Little, a police spokeswoman.

Investigators were keeping mum yesterday about just how the boy had taken control of the 1999 Chevy Malibu and drove it onto the Boulevard. An Accident Investigation Division supervisor also declined to speculate if the boy's parents could face criminal charges.

It's unknown how long or how far the boy traveled, but about 9:15 a.m., while driving north on the inner drive of the Boulevard near Rhawn Street, in Rhawnhurst, he lost control of the car, which mounted the median and hit a tree, causing the vehicle to flip, Little said.