Mom Arrested for Towing Children in Plastic Red Wagon With Car in Springfield, Oregon
An Oregon mom has been arrested after driving around during rush hour with her small children and nephew towed in a red plastic wagon attached to her car with a rope.
Twenty-seven-year-old Alana Donahue has been charged with two counts of reckless endangerment after multiple drivers reported her towing her two-year-old daughter, four-year-old son and eight-year-old nephew.
According to Oregon Live, since the police were initially unaware of the presence of the third child during the incident, a third charge against Donahue was filed too.
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Lt. Scott McKee, a spokesperson for Springfield Police Department, said that Donahue did not see the problem in doing so as she was only showing the kids "a good time," claiming that she was only driving five miles per hour.
This is not what witnesses saw though, with one telling McKee that they drove by her house in their neighborhood and "were going like 30 miles an hour."
The same witness said that when the front wheels of the wagon hauled up, the daughter started crying. That's when Donohue pulled over and "[moved] the toddler from the wagon to the car and then [continued] driving with the 4-year-old and the 8-year-old still in the wagon," per the police, relaying the story of the witness.
Other witnesses claim that Donohue caused a traffic jam, but yelled at motorists and told them to mind their own business. It did not help that she did so around 5 p.m., which is usually a time the intersection was packed and busy.
Donahue did not appear to be under the influence of intoxicants, per the authorities. McKee is simply thankful that no one got hurt.
"The kids are on a short rope so there's not a lot margin for error. It's really lucky that nothing more serious happened," he said.
Donahue has since been booked at the Springfield Municipal Jail while her children were placed under the care of another person with the help of the Department of Human Services.
