A day at the park for one family ended with a night in jail for the father after he mistakenly drove the family car onto a baseball field while receiving a driving lesson from his teen son.
Boynton Beach police said Luckner Louis, 40, smashed a fence at Caloosa Park, at 1300 Southwest 35th Ave., just before 7:30 p.m. Tuesday during the lesson from his son, 17.
A caller phoned 911 saying a silver Saturn had driven off the parking lot and onto a baseball diamond — smashing the fence and then driving erratically in the outfield. The caller said two boys got out of the car, peeled back the fence and the driver managed to get the car off the field.
After the crash, the driver — later identified as Louis — switched spots with his teen son, who then drove away from the field, police said.
Officers spotted a banged up silver Saturn driving on South Congress Avenue and pulled it over. The driver was Louis' son, and there was also a 15-year-old boy sitting in the back.
The Sun Sentinel is not identifying the teen because of his age and the nature of the crime.
Police asked the teen what happened to the car. According to the arrest report, he told them he was giving his dad a driving lesson at the park since his dad does not have a driver's license.
His dad accelerated the car and rammed the chain-link fence of the baseball field. Louis began to panic, the teen said, and frantically drove around the field looking for an exit. The teen and his little brother peeled back the fence to allow Louis to get off the field so they could go on their way.
The teen told officers he chose to drive back home since his dad couldn't. He said he didn't stay at the crash scene because he didn't think any serious damage was done to the baseball field.
According to the arrest report, the crash caused about $1,500 in damage.
Officers discovered that neither the teen nor his father had valid driver's licenses, though the teen did have a learner's permit, according to the report.
Both father and son are charged with criminal mischief. The teen also faces a charge of failure to report an accident and Louis faces a charge of leaving the scene of a crime.
The teen was sent to the juvenile detention center and Louis remains in the Palm Beach County Jail on $3,000 bail.
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