(CRESTVIEW, FL)– A 22-year-old man is facing child endangerment charges after he had a 9-year-old boy drive him to a destination before allowing the child to leave that destination with the car.
The incident occurred Sunday, Oct. 9.
A witness contacted the police department after noticing a driver having trouble staying in the lanes and cutting off multiple vehicles:
“A witness spotted a car entering Oak Hill Road from a neighborhood around 8 a.m. (Sunday) and suspected the driver was impaired due to the vehicle being all over the roadway,” the sheriff’s office said.
The witness was eventually able to pull up next to the vehicle and noticed a child was driving the car.
The witness told the child to get into the passenger seat and pulled the vehicle into a parking spot at a convenience store.
According to the report, the child told deputies that he was returning home after dropping off a 22-year-old man at a residence on Brickhill Court:
“The child … had traveled nearly three miles, when the witness intervened,” the sheriff’s office said.
“When contacted, the child’s mother says she was not aware the boy had left the home.”
The suspect who allowed the child to drive him to another residence was arrested on October 10th. He has been charged with “child neglect without great bodily harm” and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana.
According to the report, the suspect told deputies that it was a “mistake.”