Sheboygan Co. DA: Drunk mom allowed daughter to drive on her lap

Sheboygan Co. DA: Drunk mom allowed daughter to drive on her lap
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SHEBOYGAN (CBS 58) -- A Sheboygan mother is facing charges after she allegedly let her 12-year-old daughter sit on her lap and drive for her while she was drunk.

The witnesses who called sheriff's deputies say they saw the vehicle swerving in and out of lanes on I-43 northbound back on March 18th and couldn't believe what they saw.

"Our office received a phone call from an erratic driver from a private citizen,” Sheboygan County Sheriff Cory Roeseler said.

Roeseler says the driver was Amanda Hauke.

According to a criminal complaint, another driver saw a child sitting on a woman's lap driving an SUV and took video of it.

"It's troubling that someone would do that, Roeseler said. “The child obviously wouldn't have been in a seat belt and had an accident happened it could have been really dangerous."

When the deputy pulled Hauke over, he said her speech was "slow" and slurred" and there was a "strong odor" of "intoxicants."

"Some parents, unfortunately, use bad parenting skills and use their kids as their driver,” Roeseler said.

The deputy on scene said Hauke became combative and approached him with "her right hand raised” in a “hostile” way.

The deputy grabbed her hands and was ultimately able to arrest her.

When being interviewed, Hauke denied her daughter was driving, but officials say the girl admitted it but didn't know why she did.

CBS 58 knocked on Hauke's door to ask her about the charges, but no one answered.

Roeseler says fortunately in this case no one was hurt, but the outcome could have been very different.

"The airbags deploying with someone that close could be very harmful,” Roeseler said. "If they were involved in an accident that child would have no protection."

Hauke blew a .126 when given a breathalyzer on scene.

She had a .112 BAC when a blood sample was taken at a medical center.  

She could get up to ten and a half years in prison if convicted on all charges.

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