NOLENSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Nolensville police officers are sending a message to parents about talking to their young drivers about safety and the ramifications of poor driving decisions after an unlicensed teenager hit a stationary police car.

It all stems from a traffic incident late Saturday night.

Dash camera video shows a Nolensville police officer finishing up a traffic ticket. The officer was parked on the side of the road facing southbound on Nolensville Road at Brittain Lane.

Just as the officer signaled to dispatch that he has cleared the call and is preparing to get back into service, a Jeep made a right turn from Brittain Lane onto Nolensville Road.

However, instead of going around the parked police car on the side of the road, the jeep turned right, cutting into the breakdown lane on the passenger side of the police car.

Police said the jeep hit the police car, causing minor damage.

The Jeep drove for another few moments before the officer pulled it over.

When the officer approached the Jeep, he found a 15-year-old girl without a license behind the wheel. The girl also said the Jeep wasn’t hers and that it belonged to one of her friends.

“A 15-year-old past curfew out driving in the middle of the night with no license, thankfully she ran into one of our officers, not someone else, but there could be injury, there could be property damage. You just never know,” Assistant Chief Michael Terns said.

According to AAA, traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers. In fact, six teenage drivers are killed each day in the United States.

AAA said the reasons include distracted driving, impaired driving, and inexperienced driving.

“You need to get a hold of your parents, okay? You need to call your parents right now, because you just hit a police car,” the officer said.

“She is not the first person to sneak out of her house and she won’t be the last, and thankfully she was returned to her parents without incident,” Terns added.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol investigated the incident and cited the 15-year-old with failure to exercise due care and driving without a license.

Police said the girl’s parents were also woken up and summoned to the scene

According to AAA, per miles driven, teen drivers are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be killed in a crash.