Posted on 04/04/2005 5:27:15 PM PDT by Jalapeno
April 4, 2005, 11:55AM
By RUTH RENDON
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
The parents of a 6-year-old boy who struck a boat while riding a mini-scooter last month were charged with endangering a child, police said today.
The boy, Christian Castillo, was riding a mini-scooter in the 3600 block of Starlite the afternoon of March 25 when he hit a boat being towed westbound in the 6100 block of Ray. The boy was taken by helicopter to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
The child is recovering from his injuries, police spokesman Sgt. J.M. Baird said.
The boy's parents, Marcia Perez and Cezar Cortez, both 27, are charged with endangering a child. Bond for Perez was set at $2,000 and $5,000 for Cortez.
To operate a mini-scooter in Pasadena, a child must be at least 10 years old, wear a helmet and have parental supervision. Baird said Perez and Cortez violated all three provisions of the ordinance
It never fails. Three different last names. Argh.
I'm glad they're being charged (and hopefully, the court will fine the bejeezus out of them). There are tiny kids riding these things around my subdivision, and it's absolutely terrifying.
The kid in the accident was 6...I agree they are not even safe on the street for teens.
The likely pro-defense response will be, charging the parents won't un-injure the child. No responsibility accepted.
Thanks for posting that picture. I was thinking of a scooter ....
In this case the boy was only six, making it even worse!
Hey I hope they get fined as well (wonder if they will pay). What kills me ( and I saw this twice on Christmas) Kids who were given the mini scooter and they werent put togther properly.
Are kids required to wear helmets??
Glad the kid is ok..throw the book at the parents.
(btw hows the boat??)
If I were prosecuting, I'd say fining them a year's salary would keep them from buying any more expensive, deadly toys for their kid!
The ones on my street don't look as pricey as the one in the picture above, but they're about the same size. They go 20-30 mph, but they're no higher off the ground than a medium-sized dog.
I almost had a heart attack the other day, when one zipped behind me as I was backing out of the driveway in my 15-passenger van. I'm thinking of calling the Sheriff to see if there's anything that can be done.
Poor kid, without parents really it seems. The parents will next scream they can't afford the medical bills that resulted from this. Pray for this little guy. He's probably in for a lifetime of injuries at the hands of parents who either are totally oblivious, lazy or don't care. May they get some wisdom and real quick too!
The boat probably isn't even scuffed - a 6-year-old doesn't weigh much.
Helmet laws depend on the state ... the article says one was required (but not used) in this case.
"Bond for Perez was set at $2,000 and $5,000 for Cortez."
The woman gets a $2,000 bond, and the man a $5,000 bond. So much for equality.
I hope the child is okay. I also hope the judge throws the book at the parents for being complete idiots. I won`t hold my breath though.
Same here. I do hope I'm not around if/when the collision occurs. I'm not against the kids riding per se, it's the fact they're riding them up and down the street, don't stop for stop signs, etc..
When I was a lad, we would ride Honda Mini Trail 50's in our friends yard, (we had fairly large lots). That was alot of fun, and you didn't have to worry about traffic.
Then later when we got BIG motocrossers, we used to 'zip' along suburban roads on the way to our big farmland paradise with 60 mph jumps and endless straights and giant hills. I never got caught. We used to park all our 'legal' bikes around back of the 7/11 and skate out front. And yes, we were customers, we bought Icees.
I'm sooooo glad I grew up in the pre nanny state of parenthood. The best Christmas I ever remember was when my parents drove us all the way to the Big City of Little Rock. My sister and I were kinda jealous because we were going to get my big brother a mini bike much like the one pictured above. Now my parents were on the poor side so I knew it was a big thing for my brother. Boy was I surprised when we came home with 3 bikes. It was dark when we got home and my Dad let use ride from the house to the barn in the truck lights. I rode that thing up and down the highway about a mile to my little town of about 75 souls almost eveyday. No helmet. We learned how to rig the governor to make it run faster. It was a blast. Now I guess my wounderful mom and dad would be endangering our lives and taken to jail. Sorry I disagree with this stupidity of our culture. I wounder how many loads of pulp wood my Dad had to slave over to cut and haul at $15.00 a load to buy us kids those bikes.
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