Charges: Mom drives off drunk with 8-year-old daughter hanging on to car
An 8-year-old girl fell as she was clinging to the side of her mother's car in an attempt to stop her from driving away drunk, according to charges filed in Dakota County.
According to FOX 9, witnesses saw the girl stand on the runner boards of a Dodge Durango as it backed out of the driveway at just after 3:30 p.m Monday and proceeded down Catalina Way in Farmington.
She told police she was trying to get into the car and was yelling at her mom to stop, before jumping off and bruising her foot, the TV station reports.
KARE 11 says that the 46-year-old Rena Mae Giancherio has been charged with third-degree DWI, child endangerment and two counts of criminal vehicular operation.
A preliminary breath test she gave police registered a 0.3 – almost four times above the legal limit – while officers noted she had red, bloodshot eyes, her speech was slurred and she was having a hard time standing still when she was apprehended.
When questioned, FOX 9 said the mother accused her daughter of being a liar, after her daughter told police she had drank a half bottle of liquor, and offered to go and fetch the bottles.