On April 27, Whitney Bush was enjoying a quiet day with her 7-year-old son and his 5-year-old sister. Both kids were down for a nap—the youngest was in her bedroom with her, while the oldest was asleep in the living room. After making sure both kids were safe, Bush decided to lie down with her baby and enjoy a small nap. Little did she know that’s when her oldest would seize an opportunity to drive himself and his sister to McDonald’s.

Bush woke from her nap and couldn’t see her children anywhere. Peeking outside, she noticed her Ford Explorer was missing from the driveway.

“I absolutely had my heart in my stomach… I had no idea what was going on, I was being told different stories of what was happening,” she told ABC4.

A call into the Ogden, Utah police department about a reckless driver crashing into a parked struck and disabling the vehicle alerted officers to their children’s whereabouts. Her son told officers he just wanted McDonald’s and decided to drive the ten miles from his Clearfield home to Ogden.

Bush felt embarrassed, but is happy her kids are safe

Bush heard about the crash and rushed to the scene. When she got there, she discovered officers had taken them to the police department.

“I went to the scene of the crash… and then I got rerouted to the police department,” Bush recalled. “They had already had — I guess — EMS come out and check on my kids and transferred them over to the police station.”

Officers didn’t charge Bush with any neglect or misconduct. Her son wasn’t charged due to his age. She mentioned that her son has some behavioral issues, but she never assumed he’d take her car.

“I don’t think anybody wakes up in the morning or goes through their day thinking their 7-year-old is going to play ‘Grand Theft Auto’ with their vehicle,” she said. “He’s got a family full of truck drivers. He’s gonna be a truck driver someday, that’s what he wants to do. I told him it’s not gonna be today, he’s gotta wait.”

She said her son is likely grounded for life

During his trip to Ogden, he managed to cause damage to a man’s car. The man who was hit gave Bush his insurance information, where repairs will be made. He told Bush her son had gotten out of the car and flipped him off, which embarrassed her. She said he doesn’t have access to YouTube or violent video games, so she was ashamed of his attitude.

“I’m not proud of him by any means,” said the single mother. “He’s in a world of trouble, he’s probably grounded for the rest of his life… I’m certainly not taking this situation lightly, and I’m taking steps to make sure that will never happen again.”

While he wasn’t charged criminally, Bush said she has him doing “community service” for his neighbors to serve his time.