By Jerald Jimenez
03 Sep 2023, 22:58 PM EDT
An unusual case of parental irresponsibility was recorded Saturday afternoon on State Route 101 in Phoenix, Arizona, when a 49-year-old father was arrested for letting his 10-year-old son drive a red pickup truck at speed, according to reports. The authorities.
The father, identified as Álvaro Ovando Álvarez, a Phoenix resident, was charged with aggravated DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs), child abuse, endangerment, possession of an open container of alcohol and unlawfully allowing a minor, Fox 10 Phoenix said.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) told Fox News that the boy, who is not in legal trouble, was driving the truck while his father was in the passenger seat.
A DPS trooper initially responded to a report on the vehicle shortly before 3:40 p.m. and observed that the car was “unsafely changing lanes in violation of traffic law.”
The officer began a pursuit that lasted three minutes and ended when the boy stopped in the right emergency lane at mile marker 26, before the 7th Street exit ramp, at approximately 3:47 pm.
For his part, DPS spokesman Raúl García told Fox News that Álvarez was caught in the passenger seat and arrested. He was booked into the 4th Avenue Jail in Phoenix.
There are no additional details available on the incident at this time. Meanwhile, DPS did not disclose why the father let his son drive or whether there were other occupants in the vehicle. There was also no information on the state of the minor or if he was handed over to a relative.