Girl, 11, Crashes on Church Property After Man Reportedly Lets Her Drive

A 37-year-old man is facing two counts of child neglect after he let his girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter drive a car, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office report.

The girl crashed into water pipes at a Brandon church while she was behind the wheel, causing extensive damages to the pipes and the vehicle, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Detective Larry McKinnon.

Deputies were a block away when they heard the crash, he said.

The vehicle struck water pipes at , at the church’s side entrance on Sadie Street, when Donald Leet allegedly let the 11-year-old take the wheel in her mother’s Ford Explorer at 6 p.m. July 19.

Leet, of Apollo Beach, had his own 7-year-old daughter in the back seat.

“The children were hysterical when the deputies arrived,” McKinnon said. “They also noted that one of the children was getting out from the driver’s side while the adult was exiting from the passenger seat.”

Leet admitted to deputies that he had been drinking and had a suspended license, McKinnon said.

“But he could not be charged with driving under the influence (DUI) or driving with a suspended license because he was not behind the wheel of the vehicle,” McKinnon said.

Jail records show Leet has been arrested twice before on DUI charges.

Leet and the two children in the vehicle reportedly suffered minor injuries.

He was charged with two counts of child neglect and released on $4,000 bond.

It was an unusual case, McKinnon said.

“I have never seen one like this before,” he said. "We have had cases where kids drive a car, or cases where parents are drinking and have kids in the car, but never one where the parent was in the car with the child driving. It’s very fortunate we are not dealing with serious injuries or a fatality.

The church was without water for a day as a result of the crash, and some officials estimate the cost of damages at around $20,000.