An Alabama mother has been charged with child abuse after she accidentally ran over her 7-year-old son while making him walk home from school as a punishment for getting in trouble, police shared.
The incident involved 27-year-old Sarai Rachel Hames, who picked up her son earlier this month from school and learned from the boy’s principal that he had gotten in trouble that morning, according to the Boaz Police Department.
As a form of punishment, James stopped her car not far from school and made her son get out to walk or run the rest of the way home, a distance of around eight blocks, police shared.
While he walked, James drove beside her son for a few blocks, but as she slowed down, the boy tried to grab the door handle of the car, and when she accelerated, he son was pulled under the car and ran over with a rear tire, Boaz Chief of Police Michael Abercrombie told McClatchy News.
Investigators believe the incident was an accident, though Abercrombie said the boy would never have been in that situation if he hadn’t been punished.
“She may not have realized he was doing that,” Abercrombie said.
The boy is in stable condition and was brought to the University of Alabama hospital. He suffered abrasions on his back and side of his head, police shared.
James has since been charged with aggravated child abuse and was released on a $50,000 bond three days after being arrested, jail records shared.
Al.com reported that she has been barred from having any contact with her son.