Ozaukee County mom sentenced for letting son ride on top of minivan

OZAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- An Ozaukee County mother who drove while her young son rode on the top of her minivan was sentenced today.

Amber Schmunk was emotional and remorseful as the judge handed down her sentence Thursday morning.

A photo released today shows the incident from September of last year when  29-year-old Schmunk allowed her 9-year-old son to ride on top of her minivan to hold down a plastic pool.

Schmunk was charged with a felony count of second degree recklessly endangering safety. The prosecution recommended probation instead of prison because they didn't believe Schmunk was intentionally putting her child in harm's way.

Her lawyer was frustrated that no one came to her aid, "Not one person offered Ms. Schmunk help. Instead, they called the police, they took pictures out the window,” said attorney Rachel Boaz.

Schmunk said she's a good mom that made a bad decision, “It's always been just me and the kids. They're my life, I'm their life. We're everything together."

Judge Sandy Williams was stern as she gave Schmunk her sentence of three years probation and scolded her for saying her child wasn't afraid of riding on top of the van, “An eight or nine-year-old kid isn't going to be afraid of those things. They'll see it as kind of a fun, cool thing. It doesn't matter, because you are the adult in charge of that person’s life.”

Schmunk also has to take parenting classes and have a psychological evaluation done.