A 2-year-old boy whose father left him sleeping in a car put the vehicle into drive and hit two other cars after he woke, in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, on Sunday.
Nobody was hurt in the accident, Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
The father was chatting at a store nearby after he left the car running in neutral when the accident happened in Dongfeng.
People around the scene tried to stop the car from moving and called the police.