Mom Drives Minivan With Son And Plastic Pool Tied To Roof

A Wisconsin mom is facing a felony charge of recklessly endangering safety. The event that got her charged? Allegedly strapping her 9-year-old son to the top of a minivan in a plastic pool. What is going on with people? If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and five years of extended supervision.

Earlier this month, officers received a call reporting a child on top of a vehicle holding down a plastic pool. Amber Schmunk, 28, has been charged, according to the Ozaukee Press. A witness reported seeing her pull over and take the boy off the roof and cram the pool inside the vehicle and then take it to her sister’s house.

Officers questioned Schmunk about the situation involving her son. She reportedly admitted the boy had been on top of the minivan on the road “but only for a short time, maybe 20-30 seconds.” As if that makes it better. She allegedly told police that she “decided to put the pool on top of the minivan, but had no way to strap it down, so she had her child climb on the roof and hold it down while she drove,” according to a police report.

Police said Schmunk told them she thought her actions were “OK,” since her dad let her do things like that when she was nine. She also added that her son was safe on top of the minivan she tied him down with a strap on top of the pool. But here’s our question…if she had a strap to tie the boy down with, why didn’t she just use that to tie the pool down and leave the boy out of it all together?