Drunk US man asks drunk son to take the wheel

13-year-old duly obliges

By Lester Haines • Get more from this author

Posted in Bootnotes, 16th November 2007 13:08 GMT

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An unnamed Michigan man is facing "a bevy of misdemeanor charges, including child endangerment, allowing an intoxicated person to drive his car, and allowing an unlicensed minor to drive" after asking his 13-year-old son to occupy the driver's seat because he was too sozzled to take the wheel.

The problem was, the lad was drunk too, and in attempting to get home, turned the vehicle into the Clio city park and rolled it off the pavement where it "became stuck in the muddy soil".

Cue the arrival of a Clio cop on routine patrol who was "was surprised to find a 13-year-old behind the wheel, with his father in the passenger seat", and "open beer and schnapps containers" in the car, as The Flint Journal explains.

Clio Police Chief James McLellan said of the 8 November incident: "This is not your typical event."

Father and son were both cuffed, with the boy claiming he "didn't want to drive because he was too drunk". He has "been petitioned into juvenile court on charges that include driving while intoxicated", the police said.

McLellan concluded: "Most parents are more responsible in my experience. The father definitely has some serious issues to address. Hopefully, they can get it worked out in the [court] system." ®

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