A mother in Wisconsin is facing a felony charge of recklessly endangering safety after she allegedly strapped her 9-year-old son to the top of a minivan on top of a plastic pool.
Amber Schmunk, 28, of Fredonia was charged earlier this month for the September 9 incident, which started after officers received a call reporting a child on top of a vehicle holding down a plastic pool, according to the Ozaukee Press.
A witness later reported seeing Schmunk pull over and take the child off the minivan roof and wedge the pool inside the vehicle before dropping it off at her sister’s house, according to WTMJ TV.
Officers who arrived on scene questioned Schmunk about her son’s alleged wild ride.
They said she admitted the boy had been on top of the minivan on the road “but only for a short time, maybe 20-30 seconds,” according to WITI TV.
Schmunk allegedly told authorities she had picked up a molded plastic pool at another house, but didn’t have enough room inside the minivan.
She allegedly said she “decided to put the pool on top of the minivan, but had no way to strap it down, so she had her child climb on the roof and hold it down while she drove,” according to a police report obtained by WITI TV.
Police said Schmunk told them she thought her actions were “OK,” since her dad let her do things like that when she was nine. She added that her son was safe on top of the minivan she tied him down with a strap on top of the pool, according to WDJT TV.
Schmunk is due in court on Nov. 14. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and five years of extended supervision, according to the Ozaukee Press.
