‘Scared’ boy in car calls 911 on mom accused of drunk driving, Kansas police say

A teenage boy in an SUV with his mom jumped into action after realizing she was too drunk to drive, Kansas police say.

The 14-year-old “became scared for himself and his siblings” while riding in the passenger seat of a Ford Explorer on Wednesday morning in Liberal, police say.

He reached across the console, put the vehicle in neutral and steered to the side of the road before calling 911, police say. Officers responding to the scene for a 911 hang-up call found the vehicle at a home.

The 31-year-old mom was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, aggravated child endangerment and intimidation of a victim, police say. Her identity wasn’t released.

The woman also was charged with domestic battery and criminal damage related to another incident, police say.

Liberal is a city of about 20,000 in western Kansas.

This story was originally published May 28, 2021 at 6:35 PM with the headline "‘Scared’ boy in car calls 911 on mom accused of drunk driving, Kansas police say."