FREDONIA, Wis. – A 28-year-old Wisconsin woman is accused of driving with her young son strapped to the roof of her minivan.
Investigators say Amber Schmunk had her child ride on top of her minivan to hold down a plastic pool.
She's now been charged with a felony for the incident, which happened September 9.
"That woman needs to think about the safety of her children," neighbor Barbara Sellin told WITI. "To put a kid on top of the car is beyond ridiculous."
Amber Schmunk
Officers were dispatched to the area of Hillcrest Road and Claremont Road in Saukville for reports of a child riding on top of a minivan, holding down a plastic pool.
The criminal complaint says Schmunk eventually pulled over and took her 9-year-old son off the roof, folded the pool and put it inside the van. She then pulled into her sister's driveway.
Schmunk told responding officers "she believed it was OK as her father let her do things like that when she was that age," according to the complaint.
Police say she told them there wasn't enough room inside the minivan for the pool she had picked up.
The complaint says Schmunk stated she, "had no way to strap it down so she had her (son) climb on the roof to hold it down while she drove." Schmunk later told police she did strap the boy down inside the pool.
Schmunk was charged with second degree recklessly endangering safety, a felony. She faces 10 years behind bars. She's due in court for her initial appearance on November 14th.
