Drunk Father Arrested After Allegedly Forcing 9-Year-Old Daughter to Be His Designated Driver
- Posted on October 18, 2011 at 12:47pm by
Billy Hallowell
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BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (The Blaze/AP) — A Detroit-area man had his 9-year-old daughter drive him to the store because he had apparently been drinking, police said Monday, and surveillance video from a gas station shows him telling a clerk that his daughter was his “designated driver.”
Below, watch an ABC News report that showcases the shocking video:
Brownstown Township Detective Lt. Robert Grant said the girl was sitting behind the wheel in a child’s booster seat before 3 a.m. on Oct. 8, when an officer opened the driver’s side door of the full-sized panel van her father uses for work. He said she was surprised when police pulled her over.
She said to the officer, “What did you stop me for? I was driving good,” Grant told the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News.
Someone called police after spotting the pair stopped at the gas station. The caller watched the girl get in the driver’s seat and pull the vehicle onto the road. She drove a couple miles before police pulled her over.
The videotape shows the van pulling up to the station and walking in with his daughter. He told an unseen clerk that she was driving him around because he had been drinking:
“I got a designated driver,” the man said.
The AP is not naming the father in order to protect the identity of his daughter.
The girl told police that her father had been drinking whiskey all night. She said he had allowed her to drive before.
The father, who told officers he was teaching his daughter to drive, was arrested and refused a Breathalyzer test, Grant said. He was charged with second- and fourth-degree child abuse during an Oct. 10 arraignment. He was ordered to have no contact with his daughter.
His preliminary examination is scheduled for Tuesday.
He also was charged with being a habitual offender and could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if convicted. The habitual offender charge stems from convictions on four previous felonies, including receiving and concealing stolen property and unarmed robbery, Grant said.
He was convicted of driving while intoxicated in connection with an October 2007 crash in Wyandotte and had his license restricted for a year, Michigan Secretary of State spokesman Fred Woodhams told the Free Press.
The girl was turned over to her maternal grandfather when police could not reach her mother. The girl’s parents are separated.
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Comments (40)
tmplarnite
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 4:38pmWhat‘s the big deal i was driving tractor and was sitting in my dad’s lap driving the car at 6. I got my own first car at 12 -$50 Bucks, Baby Blue ‘36 Ford Coupe, cause my dad was tired of driving me every where and I already had 6 years of driving “everything”, tractors, combines, horses, trucks, and cars….we lived on ranch/farm, got my license earlier than all. I loved it……. cause HE was hammered all the time…it was a lot safer for me and the world…let me tell you. It was dangerous at night cause all the drunks were on the road then…it was ‘Look out Take the ditch’ then….and you didn’t want that; cause the ditch was full of broken whisky bottle glass and you lost your tires…you really learn to drive then at the “Nite time Dodge ‘em Drunken Car Rodeo”! I was free to drive to town but had to park it at my aunt and uncles place, then find my way around town without driving it….Yeah Right. I was now FREE to roam the world! So all you PC liberal fools “Shad Up”…there were millions of us Country Boys doing the very same thing!!!!!
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 6:28pmThey give drivers licenses to people with every form of disability, including mental disabilities, impaired judgement and other limiting factors such as impaired physical dexterity. There is little concern for the literally TENS of MILLIONS of illegal aliens driving illegally, but the real disgruntlement is because it’s a “tax” that you pay to the state (one more). We‘ve just seen that even the very best professional drivers can’t avoid catastrophe at times. I started driving at 13 and my siblings at 9 on the farm. To this day ALL of them are better drivers than 90% of people I know. Hell, they can train a monkey to fly into space but a 9 year old can‘t dive a ’car’? Please!
Report Post »BrerRabbit
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 4:33pmSicko !
Report Post »OniKaze
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 4:26pmStupid father… But I agree, the “Why did you pull me over, I was driving good..” line is classic…. The only thing that could have made that a funnier line is if they both knew the van was on fire, and THEN asked the same question… THAT would be comedic gold….
Good luck to this girl…. Its tough to grow up correctly without a real father figure, but she is off to a good start….
Report Post »Tickdog
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 4:21pmwow… talk about Loser with a capital “L”!!!
Report Post »Carol Ingian
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 3:55pmI feel bad for the kid!
Report Post »Mommy_of_3
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 2:45pmI learned to drive a stick-shift when I was 11. I was also on country back roads & fields & my stepdad wasn’t blazing drunk. How in the world did she reach the pedals?
Report Post »Johnny Cocheroo
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 3:19pmMy first time with a stick shift was out-back near a wood pile. Dad said to let the clutch out slow – so naturally I popped it and accidentally hit the gas while trying to brake. Left my dad in the dust and roared into a woodpile. Stayed there with the truck fully hammered & tires spinning until my dad could shut the truck off.
Naturally, I only drove automatic after that for a few years.
Report Post »lstoddard004
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 2:27pmLoser father.
Report Post »VigilantGuardShark
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 2:34pmMan, that really takes the cake. Sad that he couldn’t see how wrong it was, and she was being raised to not understand how wrong it was. I’m suprised this never reached the ears of her Teachers, the way 9 year old girls like to chat.
Report Post »JLGunner
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 2:20pmI hear banjos.
Report Post »marklross
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 2:13pmThis is child abuse straight up. See an even worse example of psychologic child abuse here: http://youtu.be/bLJUxftDsu0
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 2:11pmThis little girl doesn’t have a chance. Her parents are big losers and she will always remember the day her father made her drive him around while he was drunk
Report Post »GardenoftheGods
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 2:26pmBeing the child of an alcoholic, I have mixed feelings…I can remember being scared to DEATH sitting in the back seat while my father drove us around drunk as a skunk…at 8 yrs old, I would have gladly drove & prevented my brother & sisters from that terror. All in all, entire situation sucks for the child.
Report Post »geomann
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:59pmI don’t think the driving part is such a big deal, but this guy’s history sounds pretty bad. Placing her in Grandpa’s custody was a good call. With her early history, and improved home life, she could turn out to be quite a self sufficient young lady.
Of course there is no gaurantee Grandpa will be much better, considering he raised a daughter who grew up to be an absent parent, but maybe he’s learned something since then. This could be his second chance to raise an upstanding daughter. Good luck to all involved.
Report Post »objectivetruth
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 2:26pmDid you ever consider that his daughter works night shift?Maybe her job doesn’t allow people to get in contact with her easily?Overnight delivery service perhaps?Try thinking before posting please
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:59pm.
She said to the officer, “What did you stop me for? I was driving good,”
LMAO best line of the year…………
Report Post »txrailroader
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:39pmWhat is she doing up at 3 A.M. was it a school night or the weekend ?
Report Post »CONSERVATIVE SUMMER
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:35pmWhether it’s a big deal or not.. shame on that guy for putting his daughter in a bad sitaution and sacrificing his relationship with her over some whiskey! What an idiot! He should go OWS…
Report Post »Johnny Cocheroo
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:32pmHe should get probation and she should get a spanking. I wouldn‘t have a problem if he wasn’t drunk.
The road was a bit busier looking than the ones I drove with my dad when I was 10. He let me drive as a reward for helping him cut firewood on Saturdays. He wasn’t drunk & we both waved when we passed County Cops…..who waved back.
The worlds a different place – too bad.
Anybody remember how it was no big deal to ride for hours in the back of a pickup truck with friends on the expressway? Now your likely to get pulled over if you do that with your dog.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:22pmI love this Girl… and I hope someone takes good care of her!
Report Post »cessna152
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:16pmWe’ve become such a wimpy azz society. 20 Years ago this would be a “non story” because it’s silly and actually kind of funny. However, dad is setting a bad example for being drunk and forcing his daughter to break the law…
Report Post »thegodfather
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:09pmHopefully her time behind the wheel, will count toward her Drivers Ed training requirements.
Report Post »mtnclimberjim
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:13pmI taught my kids how to drive very young also. never know when you might need a kids help.
Report Post »Smart kid….dumb dad. Alcoholism is a sad thing, I know I’m 28yrs sober.
Stoic one
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:55pmmountain climber I agree…24yrs sober.
Report Post »txrailroader
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:07pmParty at this guys house, get drunk no problem he has a driver take you home.Next he will have her go get the beer and cigs just tell the cashier here 50 don’t worry about my age.
Report Post »jb.kibs
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:06pmi used to drive when i was 10… my cousin would pull over and let me drive down the road.. who cares.
driving is nothing today… it’s embedded into people now… look at kids toys, my 2 year old drives around a powered car perfectly… who cares, he did the right thing… would you rather him drive drunk or let his sober daughter drive him home?
He was charged with second- and fourth-degree child abuse during an Oct. 10 arraignment. He was ordered to have no contact with his daughter.
really? child abuse? was she hurt physically or mentally from this? prove it.
Report Post »objectivetruth
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 2:44pmI could not agree more.I grew up driving.My daddy taught me how to drive as soon as my feet could touch all the pedals.He was however sober.[He wasn't a drinker nor a reformed alcholic].Then again I grew up in rural america where kids were taught responsibility.Which sounds like the father in this case[at least until he decided to drink]actually did.Had someone not called the cops they would have been home safe and sound.Seems she is a good driver.
Report Post »I don’t see this as child abuse.The poor child had more abuse from the police and social services dept than daddy.They are going to try an destroy that family over this.She isn’t allowed contact with her father.Imagine the horror of having your own daddy taken from you by someone you don’t even know.He did something stupid.They have purposely hurt her knowing damn well the pain it would cause.Note Most police depts are required to contact social services when a child is involved.Translated any hope the family had of maintaining unity will be forever lost due to the ss nazi’s
scuba13
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:06pmHey look, it’s that idiot who calls himself Lumbar spine.
Report Post »valarie
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:04pmFather of the Year!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 1:00pmHe was sooo proud of his “designated driver” and the fact that he was not driving while drunk .. what a FOOL … Michigan throw the book at this loser!
Report Post »gmoneytx
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 12:58pmWith what this nation has come to in the past 10 years, I don’t see the big deal. Yes, the human race has reached it’s APEX of evolution! Someone flush the toilet please!
Report Post »objectivetruth
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 2:22pmI couldn’t agree more.
Report Post »AlansTigg
Posted on October 18, 2011 at 12:54pmwow that guy sounds like such a winner!!
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