An Alabama mother made her 7-year-old son walk home from school as punishment, then accidentally ran him over, police said.
Police said Sarai Rachel James, 27, went to Boaz School to pick up her son around 3:30 p.m. on February 9, and learned from the principal that he had gotten into trouble at school that morning. .
Not far from the school, police said they stopped James’ car and asked her to let her son out. She told him he would have to walk or run the rest of the way home, about eight blocks, police said.
James drove alongside her son or followed her for several blocks, but when she slowed down, the boy tried to grab the car’s door handle, Boaz Police Chief Michael Abercrombie said. told McClatchy News.
Police said the woman accelerated and her son was pinned under the car and hit by the rear wheel.
Abercrombie said investigators believe James accidentally ran over the boy, but he never would have been in that situation if she hadn’t decided to punish him. .
“She may not have known he was doing that,” Abercrombie said.
He was taken to the University of Alabama Hospital with only abrasions to his back and side of the head.
“God was watching over him,” Abacom said.
James, 27, was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse. She was released three days later on $50,000 bail, according to her jail records.
James is forbidden from having contact with his son; Al.com reported..
Another 53-year-old woman who was in the car at the time of the incident was charged with misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child. She was released on $500 bail.
