Alabama mom, 27, punished her seven-year-old son by making him walk home from school - then 'ran over him with her car'

Daily Mail UK ^ | February 18, 2024 | Laura Parnaby

[Morgana]

An Alabama mom has been accused of punishing her seven-year-old son by making him walk home from school before accidentally running him over with her car.

Sarai Rachel James, 27, was charged with aggravated child abuse on February 8 over the cruel punishment, according to Marshall County Jail records.

She picked her son up from school in Boaz, northern Alabama, around 3.30pm, when she learned he had got into trouble with the principal earlier that day.

There were two women in the car along with the boy - James and an unnamed 53-year-old woman who has also been arrested, police told McClatchy News.

James allegedly stopped the car and ordered her son to get out and run or walk the rest of the way home - around eight blocks.

She drove beside him for a few blocks, but the boy tried to grab the car door handle.

James accelerated and her son was pulled under the vehicle, which ran him over with the rear tire. Investigators believe that part of the incident was an accident.

Boaz Chief of Police Michael Abercrombie told McClatchy News the child would never have been in that situation if James had not decided to punish him.

The boy was taken to the University of Alabama hospital with scrapes on his back and the side of his head from the incident.

James was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse. She was released on a $50,000 bond on February 11, according to Marshall County Jail records.

She is reportedly barred from having any contact with her son.

The 53-year-old passenger in James' car at the time of the incident has also been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, and she has been released on a $500 bond.

[Morgana]

We used to walk home from school all the time. I remember when we were very little say about K to about 2nd grade our Moms would save plastic bread bags and put them in our rubber boots to put over our feet. Somehow this kept our feet more warm. You would go in the area were kids kept their coats, hats, and boots and see all the bread bags sticking out of rubber boots and you knew what brand they ate. I wonder if moms still do this?

Now walking home is a punishment? Kids today have it soft.

[Bob434]

C’mon, who’s mother hasnt run them over as punishment? Sheesh, kids these days complain about everything. I mean it’s not like she misgendered the kid or anything.

[PIF]

Motherly love ain’t what it used to be.

[Sacajaweau]

What ever happened to that crazy lady...who pulled off the highway to follow the little (non existent) kid in a diaper???

[Bob434]

She got distracted by a pink elephant walking a tightrope across the river

[Tennessee Nana]

Our house was 19/20 of a mile from school...

A child had to live a mile away in order to get the school bus...

We walked or rode our bikes through all the grades K-12

I even ran home and back to school for a hot lunch with Mom when I was in high school...

[Qwapisking]

“In my day we walk to school 3 miles in the rain or the snow...and uphill both ways”

[ought-six]

The plastic bags helped to keep your feet dry; and thus, warm.

[ought-six]

I think she was convicted.

[RoosterRedux]

James accelerated and her son was pulled under the vehicle, which ran him over with the rear tire. Investigators believe that part of the incident was an accident.

[...]

The boy was taken to the University of Alabama hospital with scrapes on his back and the side of his head from the incident.

The rear tire ran over that kid and all he has are scrapes on his back and head? That's one tough kid.

[aquila48]

“James accelerated and her son was pulled under the vehicle, which ran him over with the rear tire. Investigators believe that part of the incident was an accident.

The boy was taken to the University of Alabama hospital with scrapes on his back and the side of his head from the incident.”

Uh? Something doesn’t add up.

I would think if you get run over by car’s tire you’d have more than just scrapes.

[Does so]

Same here, but we got to walk through a RI forest. Crows everywhere. On weekends, I’d take my BB gun to get a shot at them, but the crows somehow always stayed out of range.

:-/

Later, I rode a bicycle until it got stolen (for the chain).

[Does so]

“Motherly love ain’t what it used to be.”

Discipline don’t come easy...

[Gaffer]

I remember in 1950s when I was maybe 6-7 I was in downtown DC shopping with my mother (we lived near St. Elizabeth’s at the time) and I was acting an ass and my mother said, “okay, stay here and see how you like it” (or something like that). She then proceeded on off to the car and drove off.

Turned out it was just around the block and she pulled up beside me and I got in....

Different times... much, much safer there then. We talked about it 50 years or so later and she told me today she wouldn’t even dare do that. We laughed quite a bit about it.

[Tennessee Nana]

Mom left each one off us kids outside the stores in our pram when she went in to shop...

It was a practice then all mothers did it...

Can you imagine now ???

[Vesparado]

My! That’s awfully strict!

[j.havenfarm]

Me, too! I also had to dodge the snow gators. Nearly lost a leg on a number of occasions

[9422WMR]

Depends upon the weight of the car. A little rice burner weighing a little over 2,000 pounds might not due too much damage if simply rolling over a portion of the kids body. He may have just bounced off the turning wheel and was not actually “ran over”.

[TheDon]

From the excerpt not sure how the charge can be upheld. Must be more to the story.

[RandallFlagg]

Reminds me of an old Richard Pryor line from one of his earliest albums when talking about child discipline:

“Go on out there in the middle of the street while I start the car.”