UkrainianGuy
06-08-2009, 09:39 PM
The father who filmed his seven-year-old son driving along a deserted dirt road in Quebec and put the video on YouTube says he regrets the incident but feels the episode has been blown out of proportion.
The father told the French-language network LCN that he is ready and willing to meet with police and that he regrets his actions, but also defended himself against the media onslaught.
"It's a road that goes to a lake," the father told LCN. "There aren't any passing cars, there's nothing there . . . It's not as dangerous as everyone is saying."
The video, filmed more than two years ago, shows the boy driving, while his father sits, filming in the passenger seat of the family's Honda CRV. He can be heard telling his son, Samuel, to smile for the camera as the vehicle reaches speeds of up to 62 kilometres per hour.
"It was just for a joke," the father told LCN, "I would never let my son do this on his own."
The father also identifies the family as being from the Cote-Nord region of Quebec, which borders Newfoundland and Labrador.
Turning to the back seat, viewers can see the young boy's mother and two siblings along for the ride. Filmed on a rainy day, the sport-utility vehicle's windshield wipers are activated as the father repeatedly tells his son that he loves him.
LCN said the father he was proud of his son and wanted to be able to show his friends how well the young boy could drive.
Surete du Quebec spokeswoman Sgt. Chantal Mackels said either criminal or civil charges could be laid, but that would be decided by a provincial Crown prosecutor.
"In a case like this, if the Crown prosecutor does decide to put forth accusations criminally, it can be either dangerous driving or criminal negligence," said Mackels.
"Usually, when you have dangerous driving, the accusation goes to the driver. But because the driver is a minor and he's not responsible legally, there's another article in the criminal code that makes you (an) accomplice."
Quebec provincial police are investigating after a YouTube video surfaced of a seven-year-old boy speeding along a dirt road while his father shouts encouragement.
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The father told the French-language network LCN that he is ready and willing to meet with police and that he regrets his actions, but also defended himself against the media onslaught.
"It's a road that goes to a lake," the father told LCN. "There aren't any passing cars, there's nothing there . . . It's not as dangerous as everyone is saying."
The video, filmed more than two years ago, shows the boy driving, while his father sits, filming in the passenger seat of the family's Honda CRV. He can be heard telling his son, Samuel, to smile for the camera as the vehicle reaches speeds of up to 62 kilometres per hour.
"It was just for a joke," the father told LCN, "I would never let my son do this on his own."
The father also identifies the family as being from the Cote-Nord region of Quebec, which borders Newfoundland and Labrador.
Turning to the back seat, viewers can see the young boy's mother and two siblings along for the ride. Filmed on a rainy day, the sport-utility vehicle's windshield wipers are activated as the father repeatedly tells his son that he loves him.
LCN said the father he was proud of his son and wanted to be able to show his friends how well the young boy could drive.
Surete du Quebec spokeswoman Sgt. Chantal Mackels said either criminal or civil charges could be laid, but that would be decided by a provincial Crown prosecutor.
"In a case like this, if the Crown prosecutor does decide to put forth accusations criminally, it can be either dangerous driving or criminal negligence," said Mackels.
"Usually, when you have dangerous driving, the accusation goes to the driver. But because the driver is a minor and he's not responsible legally, there's another article in the criminal code that makes you (an) accomplice."
Quebec provincial police are investigating after a YouTube video surfaced of a seven-year-old boy speeding along a dirt road while his father shouts encouragement.
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