An Ohio man’s decision to teach his 9-year-old son to drive backfired when the father was hit and dragged under his own car.
Toledo resident Clejuan Williams, 36, was drunk when he began giving his son instructions on how to back out of the driveway, police told DailyMail.com.
The boy sat in the driver’s seat and was told to step on the pedals. Not knowing which one to step on, he stepped on the accelerator.
Video obtained by WTVG It showed Williams standing in the door frame of the driver’s seat. When his son reverses, he is seen lying on the ground.
The car is shown driving down the driveway and sliding a pole across the street.
Clejuan Williams, 36, of Toledo, was intoxicated when he began giving his son instructions on how to back out of the driveway, according to court documents.
The boy sat in the driver’s seat and was told to step on the pedals. Not knowing which one to press, he stepped on the accelerator pedal.
The video showed Williams standing in the door frame of the driver’s seat.
There were also children in the back seat of the car and others standing near where the incident occurred, including a “young child standing right near the vehicle,” according to court documents.
Williams, who was taken to the hospital, faces charges of improper delivery of a motor vehicle and child endangerment.
“It’s heartbreaking to see because as a parent, when you see that happen, you think about how it can be prevented,” Toledo Police Officer Príncipe Flores said during a news conference.
“You don’t want to put them in a position that they’re not prepared for or mature enough to realize.”
The car is shown driving down the driveway and sliding a pole across the street.
There were also children in the back seat of the car and other people standing near where the incident occurred, including a toddler, according to court documents.
Williams has a lengthy record that includes charges of child endangerment, driving under the influence, cocaine possession, drug trafficking and domestic violence, according to court records.
In December 2020, he was arrested after assaulting the mother of his child and dropping a four-month-old baby to the ground during the struggle.
Court records from that incident said Williams was a “substantial risk to the safety of the child.”
He is expected to appear in court for his arraignment on the most recent charges on October 13.
Williams, who was taken to the hospital, faces charges of improper delivery of a motor vehicle and child endangerment.
Williams has a lengthy record that includes charges of child endangerment, driving under the influence, cocaine possession, drug trafficking and domestic violence, according to court records.
The incident occurred a month after an 8-year-old girl drove a van that swerved during a 25-minute trip to Target.
The girl drove her family’s white 2020 Nissan Rogue out of their home in Bedford, Ohio, on the morning of September 15.
Her family reported her missing to the Bedford Police Department around 7 a.m. To their surprise, a neighbor’s surveillance camera revealed that the girl got into the driver’s seat and left in the van.