Houston injury lawyers point out that not all incidents involving child endangerment by a driver involve drunken driving. The penalties from a drunken driving conviction are more severe if the driver had a young child in the vehicle with them at the time of their arrest. Driving drunk and endangering a child is considered a particularly serious crime under Texas law.
But other reckless and foolish behavior that endangers a child is also subject to penalties. For example, Houston police just arrested a man for driving around a crowded parking lot with his 7-year-old stepson on the sunroof of his car. Apparently Abelardo Araujo and his stepson were in the Acres Homes parking lot to attend a “makeshift car show” when Araujo decided to put his stepson on the roof of the car and drive around so that the boy could get a good view of the vehicles.
Concerned parents who might be reading this article can probably imagine all the accidents that could have happened and all the injuries that could have resulted to the boy from his ride aboard the car’s sunroof. Or Houston injury lawyers note that among other considerations, sunroofs present weak points in a car’s structure; they aren’t designed to carry any extra weight. The glass in sunroofs occasionally will give way from slight impacts to a vehicle.
Other vehicles were likely driving through the parking lot at the time. The boy could have slipped off the roof at any time.
Fortunately, a Houston police officer driving along W. Little York noticed the child perched on the roof of the moving car. The officer put a stop to the reckless and dangerous activity and arrested Abelardo Araujo before any injury accident could occur. The officer charged Araujo with child endangerment.
It’s one thing when an adult endangers himself. But when his recklessness endangers others, particularly when it endangers a child, our Houston injury lawyers emphasize that the law takes an interest. Learn about some reckless driving behaviors and what you can do in the event of injury.