11yr old driver caused a fatal crash

[Amby 490]

PORTERVILLE, Calif. — Investigators were mystified Wednesday as to why an 11-year-old boy was behind the wheel when the car ran a stop sign and crashed into another vehicle, killing him, his mother and younger sister.

California Highway Patrol Officer Stefanie Buck said investigators have not yet been able to interview the car's lone survivor to determine why sixth-grader Jose Manuel Silva Covarrubias was driving.

"For whatever reason the 11-year-old didn't stop at the stop sign, and drove the Honda into the path of the Ford," Buck said. "It's a tragedy any way you look at it."

His sister, Elizabeth Silva Covarrubias, 6, and their mother, Maria Covarrubias, 30, both of Woodville, were also killed in the accident. Neither the mother nor daughter was wearing a seatbelt, and both were ejected from the back seat.

A family friend, Froylon Gonzalez, was sent to a Fresno hospital with life-threatening injuries. Gonzalez, 34, of Woodville, was wearing his seat belt in the passenger seat when the crash happened at a rural intersection.

Felipe Zamora Gonzalez, the man's brother, said the family was returning from Jose's soccer team practice, and added that he had never seen Jose drive before.

Investigators said the boy was driving a 1993 Honda when he ran a stop sign and was hit broadside. The driver of that vehicle, Charles Seguin, 44, of Porterville, sustained minor injuries.

It does not appear drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash, nor did the winter fog typical of the area obscure the view, Buck said.

The accident happened at a rural intersection outside Porterville, which is about 70 miles southeast of Fresno.

Dondreia Bradley, the superintendent of Woodville Union School District said she was "stunned" to hear that Jose had been behind the wheel.

He came from "a wonderful family" with a supportive mother, she said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,582991...test=latestnews

[Nagishkaw 510]

0MGosh!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

PORTERVILLE, Calif. — Investigators were mystified Wednesday as to why an 11-year-old boy was behind the wheel ...

He was behind the wheel because he wanted to drive. It's not an uncommon instinct for a boy that age.

That said, the consequences are tragic.

[CDAgirlMI 51]

What would've been more tragic is if the person in the other vehicle died.

I don't care how bad a kid wants to drive a car, the mother is (was) an idiot.

Edited January 14, 2010 by CDAgirlMI

[Niels Bohr 72]

Why did the mother let the boy drive? I like some answers. Huge risk and responsibilities for a mother to make that decision.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Why did the mother let the boy drive? I like some answers. Huge risk and responsibilities for a mother to make that decision.

Maybe she didn't let him. Maybe she was dead to begin with

[Amby 490]

:o

[mawilson 2,133]

Maybe she didn't let him. Maybe she was dead to begin with

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Murder - Suicide.......no doubt about it.