The mother was charged with reckless conduct and seat belt violation.
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A mom was arrested in Gwinnett County this week, police said, after a video went viral over the weekend showing her 12-year-old son riding in the trunk of a car.
The Gwinnett County Police Department said in a release the 36-year-old woman was charged with reckless conduct and seat belt violation. 11Alive is not naming her in accordance with station policy, which you can read more about here.
The short video, posted to the @atlscoop account, was taken by a driver who said they saw the boy in Gwinnett County. It shows the boy briefly popping his head up to look out of the trunk.
Gwinnett Police said that a woman who saw the video reported it to the department. GCPD said a detective utilized the Flock camera network to identify where the car had been in the area of Pleasant Hill Road and Shackleford Road outside Duluth city limits.
“The detective identified the registered owner and met with her on February 27 at her home in Duluth,” a GCPD release said. “The item in the trunk was a baby bassinet recently purchased through an online marketplace advertisement, and the child (boy, age 12) was sitting in the trunk to help hold the item in place.”
The mom was booked into Gwinnett County Jail on Tuesday evening, and she bonded out of jail Wednesday morning, police said. They added the son was temporarily placed in the custody of another family member who lived at the residence until the mom bonded out of jail. Police say she faces reckless conduct and seatbelt violation charges.
Gwinnett police are asking parents to ensure their kids are safely seated and restrained while in a vehicle.
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