A 13-year-old boy who took the family SUV for a joy ride and ended up driving off the 4th floor of a parking garage Saturday is expected to recover, officials said.
The Upper Darby boy was at dinner with his family at the Turf Club restaurant Saturday night when, around 8 p.m., he convinced his grandfather to give him the keys to the family car, to allegedly remove a few things from the SUV. Instead, the teen put the keys in the ignition and took the 2001 Dodge Durango for a spin around the top level of the Sears Department Store parking garage. That's when he lost control of the vehicle and went flying over the concrete barrier, through a cyclone fence, down to the street below, Philly.com reported.
The Durango hit the street front-first, then flipped over onto a 2006 Toyota 4Runner -- which took the brunt of the blow and saved the boy's life, according to police.
"If it wasn't for the cushioning of the vehicle that stopped it, the roof probably would have crushed him inside the car," said Superintendent Michael Chitwood of the Upper Darby Police Department.
The boy crawled out of the Durango with help and was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
