GUILDERLAND — Last Friday, 7-year-old and a 5-year-old took their driving test early.

Guilderland Police said the two young boys took the keys to the family’s minivan around 9 p.m. on Friday after their grandmother and mother had gone to sleep for the evening.

Sergeant Adam Meyers said the two boys then got into the van and backed out of their home on Fort Hunter Road, crashing into a neighbor’s fence before hitting the open road. The 7-year-old took the wheel while his younger brother enjoyed the ride from the front passenger seat, according to police reports.

Police received several calls, reporting two boys driving a car and hitting mailboxes.
"They drove from there along Rosedale Way and across West Lydius Street, striking several mailboxes along the route," Meyers told The Enterprise. A cluster of mailboxes were destroyed during the pursuit, he added.

The boys’ names are not being released due to their age, Meyers said.
"The 7-year old then turned around and almost struck a police cruiser"We continued to follow him, then he stopped and we blocked him in with the police cars, and he put the vehicle in park," said Meyers.

No one was hurt during the incident and there was no damage to police vehicles, but police say that the minivan the boys hijacked has been totaled.

Meyers said he had never seen this type of incident in his years on the Guilderland Police force.
"We don’t foresee any criminal charges," Meyers said, but added that the case is still under investigation by the Guilderland Police and the Department of Child Protective Services.