How an 8-Year-Old Safely Drove Herself to Target for a Shopping Spree

An eight-year-old girl made waves on the internet after she snatched the keys to her family’s SUV and went on a joyride to Target—arriving safely and treating herself to a shopping spree.

On a Sunday morning in September, Zoe Wilson—who was mad at her sister after an argument the previous night—crept out of her Bedford, Ohio, home with her mother Tangie’s keys, wallet, and ID.

In what was apparently a bold act of rebellion, the third grader hopped in the family’s Nissan Rogue and drove around 10 miles, unscathed, to the retail chain. She brought along her dog, named Bear, for the journey.

A neighboring motorist captured Zoe’s admittedly erratic driving in dashcam footage in which she can be seen swerving between lanes.

​​“Not even 30 minutes later, her sister came in and was like, ‘Mom, where is Zoe? She took the dog,’” Tangie told The New York Times. “And I’m like, ‘She just asked for her iPad, what do you mean she’s not here?’”

After a brief missing persons search, Zoe was found completely fine, enjoying a Starbucks frappuccino at the nation’s seventh largest retailer.

However, her story—and the accompanying footage—went viral on social media, and it left many people wondering how a child her age could have possibly made it there without hurting anyone.

Tangie said that Zoe had apparently planned to steal the car the night before, but only landed on Target as a destination after she cracked her IPad case on the way out the door. She figured she would pick up a new one. (When she got there, though, she couldn’t figure out what size she needed, and bought toys and makeup instead.)

Zoe had no previous experience driving a car, her mother said. “I think 90 percent of it was just her driving off of using go-karts and watching me drive.”

She added that she did not harshly discipline her daughter for the joyride.

“I spoke to her and reassured her that I loved her and how I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her and how dangerous and big the situation was,” she said. “But when we did go places moving forward, if she wanted a slushy from the store, I would tell her no as a consequence.”