7-Year-Old Who Crashed Into Trees, Parked Car, During 'Joyride' Likely to See Charges Dropped

Cedar Rapids Police have charged a 7-year-old boy with driving without a license, failure to maintain control, hit-and-run and no insurance.

Whether or not the charges will stick will remain up to Linn County officials.

The boy allegedly took his mother's car for a ride Saturday in southwest Cedar Rapids before 9 a.m., "because he wanted to move to a different house," KCRG reported.

Police said the boy ran into a parked car and two trees but suffered no serious injuries.

Police caught the boy when he rolled over on an embankment between the Wendy's on 2735 Edgewood Road and a bank.

Linn County Assistant Attorney Rebecca Belcher, who works in the juvenile division, said she would deny filing the charges issued to the boy because of his young age.

"A 7-year-old can't cognitively be able to understand the ramifications and consequences of what he has done legally," she said.

However, Belcher said the case actually falls out of the Linn County Attorney's juvenile division and into the traffic division.

An assistant attorney in the traffic division did not immediately respond to a phone call.

Belcher later said it's unlikely that the boy would be charged.