9 Year Old Drives Drunken Father, Dad Says It Was a Bad Idea
A man who let his 9-year old daughter drive him around because he was drinking has said his decision to do so was a bad idea.
Shawn Weimer, 39, asked his daughter drive on the morning of Oct 8. Weimer said he thought of the days when he was her age and how he had driven around a 22-acre farm and a junkyard which belonged to his family.
Police pulled the van over and found his daughter behind the wheel. They arrested Weimer. His daughter drove around a private road for 45 minutes before driving to a gas station.
Weimer will go on trial for a felony child abuse charge. Last month, his daughter testified that her father drank half a bottle of whiskey on that night and that she agreed to drive although she felt a “little scared.”
A surveillance video from a gas station shows Weimer bragging about his daughter’s driving skills. Weimer said he was embarrassed when he first saw the video on television. He has not decided whether he will plead guilty to felony child abuse.
“I just want things to be over with, and I don’t want my daughter to be involved,” he said.