Case Of 9-Year-Old Driver Recessed After Girl Breaks Down In Court
ED WHITE, Associated Press
WOODHAVEN, Mich. (AP/WWJ) — A 9-year-old girl was in tears as she testified about the night her dad allowed her to drive a full-size van in suburban Detroit.
The daughter of Shawn Weimer says she agreed to drive but "felt a little scared."
Police in Wayne County's Brownstown Township stopped the van in the wee hours of Oct. 8 and found the girl behind the wheel in a booster seat.
Weimer is charged with child abuse. His daughter testified Tuesday that he drank half of a bottle of Black Velvet whiskey.
Judge Michael McNally called a recess after the girl kept crying and later said he won't decide until next week whether Weimer goes to trial for child abuse.Weimer's attorney wants to put his arguments in writing.
Weimer's attorney says the girl was a good driver and unlikely to be injured — a key standard under a second-degree child abuse charge.
The child's father bragged about her driving skills to a gas station clerk the night she was pulled over, and the girl was "surprised" when officers pulled her over, saying she thought she was driving "pretty good." Hear the 911 call and see surveillance video of the incident here.
Stay with WWJ for continuing coverage.
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