The father of an 8-year-old boy who crashed the family car into the wall of Motel 6 in Newark during an attempted joy ride has been arrested on an outstanding warrant, police said.
The crash happened at about 10:30 p.m. Monday at the Motel 6 at 5601 Mowry Ave. Police said the boy picked up the keys to the family's car and slipped out of the motel room while his parents were sleeping.
He got into the car, put it into drive, stepped on the accelerator and crashed into the front wall of his parents' room, police said.
No one was injured, but the impact caused significant damage to the motel wall, police said.
Responding officers learned that the boy's father, Ion Margel, 29, was wanted on a warrant for theft out of Orange County. He was taken into custody and booked into jail.
Police determined that the parents were not negligent because they were asleep at the time of the accident, Police Commander Mike Carroll said. The boy was released to the care of his mother.
