Father Of Boy Who Stole, Crashed Car Says He's Had A 'Hard Life'

A Rogers County father says his son is a good boy who's had a hard life, but family members tell News On 6 that the man is an unfit father.

Chad Warden's son is accused of stealing a car and crashing it near Inola last month.

Chance turned 8 years old last Friday and his family says he spent his birthday at Tulsa's Parkside Psychiatric Hospital getting treatment after he crashed a stolen car.

12/26/2017 Related Story: OHP: 7-Year-Old Boy Hurt Crashing Stolen Car At High Speed Near Inola

Chance's brother, CJ Nichols, said the accident is just the latest bad decision Chance has made since he started living with his dad.

"I would do anything in the world for him," said Chance's father, Chad Warden. 

Chad Warden is in the Rogers County jail accused of breaking into an elementary school, while *he says* his son sits in a Tulsa Psychiatric Hospital.

Warden says he was shocked when police told him his 7-year-old son had wrecked a stolen car because Chance has always been such a good kid.

"He's smart, he's loving, he ain't had a fair shot. He's just been pulled and jerked, he's strong," Warden said of his son.

Chance's brother CJ said he's seen a lot of changes in his brother's behavior since Warden got custody.

"The curse words he is saying, the vocabulary he has, no child should have, no teenager should have," Nichols said. 

Nichols said both parents have a criminal history, but he said his mother has worked hard to get her life back on track and Warden keeps making bad decisions.

"Chad is not fit, he has finally been caught from what he has been doing, he was doing it before Chance was born," Nichols said. 

But Warden said he's always tried to take good care of his son.

"Just a healthy solid, honest environment, there was nothing in that environment that would ever hurt him," he said. 

Warden said he's willing to do whatever it takes to make sure Chance has a full happy life.

Sawyer: "Do you feel like you can provide the most stable environment for him?"

Chad Warden: "Absolutely."

While Nichols said his mother is the only one who can give Chance a stable home and she'll keep fighting to get custody.

Sawyer: "Who should Chance be with?"

CJ Nichols: "My mother. She is the right kind of parent to raise that child."

Chance's mom and dad will be back in court next month for their first custody hearing since the accident.

The DA has not filed charges against Chad for the burglary.