The car involved in this terrible tragedy was similar to this 2003 Mercury Sable.

We’ve seen too many sad stories involving accidents this year, and no matter how safe we want everyone to be, they’ll still happen. Whether it was a clean and modified 1955 Chevy at the dragstrip where the driver was lucky to walk away, or a brand new musclecar that gets into a collision less than an hour after it was purchased, not much can be sadder than the news we picked up on just before Christmas this year.

According to WAPT News in Jackson, Mississippi, a tragic accident occurred when a nine-year-old driver of a 2003 Mercury Sable decided to go on a joy ride. We’ve heard of stories in the past where an underage child took up behind the wheel of a parent’s car, but this story has an even sadder ring to it.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol noticed the Sable detouring through a store parking lot in order to avoid a safety checkpoint, and that’s when officers took chase, not knowing the story behind the detour, or who the driver was at the time. As the car tried to avoid police, it eventually veered off the road and struck a pole, splitting it into two. The car flipped over and landed

As the patrolman approached the car, they found the young driver, as well as three other juveniles, one as young as three years old. Two passengers, the three year old and a 13 year old, who was a step brother of the adopted nine-year-old driver. The twin sister of the 13 year old is out of the hospital, but the young driver is still in critical condition.

While the accident is still under investigation, it hasn’t been discussed just how the nine-year-old acquired the keys, or how and why the other three all decided to get into the car with him, but with two dead and the driver still critically injured, this is a story that hits everyone hard. Please keep this family in your thoughts, and for you own family’s sake please be sure that your own children do not have access to your car keys. Have a safe New Year.