Man arrested after allegedly letting 10-year-old son drive truck on Loop 101 in Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - A father is in custody after reportedly letting his 10-year-old son drive his truck on a freeway in Scottsdale on Saturday afternoon. Around 3:30 p.m., the Arizona Department of Public Safety responded to a 911 call about a boy seen driving a red truck on the Loop 101. The caller said the truck was weaving and speeding, heading west near Scottsdale Road.

A DPS trooper found the truck and tried to stop it after seeing the driver changing lanes unsafely. The driver, a 10-year-old boy failed to stop. At that point, DPS began chasing the truck as they passed north Scottsdale and entered in north Phoenix. They driver eventually pulled over in the emergency lane of the 7th Street off-ramp.

The DPS trooper confirmed that the boy was driving and his father, 49-year-old Alvaro Ovando Alvarez, was in the passenger seat. Officers say the boy then went into the back seat and buckled his seat belt as his father was told to step out of the vehicle. Court paperwork described Alvarez as having watery bloodshot eyes and that he smelled strongly of alcohol.

Ovando Alvarez was booked into the Maricopa County jail for endangerment, having an open container of alcohol, and unlawfully permitting a minor to drive. He was released under supervision. The child is not facing any charges.

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