A mom punished her 7-year-old for getting in trouble at school by making him walk home, then she ran him over in the process, Alabama police said.
Now, a 27-year-old woman has been charged with aggravated child abuse, according to Marshall County jail records.
McClatchy News is not identifying the woman to protect the identity of her son.
The 7-year-old got in trouble on the school bus the morning of Feb. 8 and couldn’t take the bus home, Boaz Police Chief Michael Abercrombie told McClatchy News over the phone.
His mom had to pick him up from school, but she made him get out of the car to walk home at around 3:30 that afternoon, the police chief said.
He walked and jogged with his mom trailing him or driving beside him with her flashers on, Abercrombie said. After about two or three blocks, she slowed down, and the child reached for the door handle presumably to try to get back in the car, according to the police chief.
“She may not have realized he was doing that,” Abercrombie said, and she drove off, causing him to be pulled under the vehicle.
Investigators believe the mother accidentally ran over the boy, but it wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t being punished to begin with, Abercrombie said.
He was taken to a Birmingham hospital with abrasions on his back and the side of his head, the police chief said.
Abercrombie said it was a miracle the child wasn’t more severely injured.
“God watched over him,” he said.
The child didn’t have any internal injuries or broken bones.
The woman was booked in jail Feb. 8 and was released three days later on $50,000 bond, records show. Her attorney information is not available in jail records.
An adult passenger in the car was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, AL.com and People reported.
Boaz is about 70 miles northeast of Birmingham.
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