DOCUMENT: Stupid, Crime

Boy, 8, Crashed SUV After Drunk Dad Let Him Drive

Man said he "did not see a problem" with child driving

Child Driver

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Drunk Dad Child Driver

OCTOBER 17--An intoxicated Pennsylvania father told police that he “did not see a problem” with allowing his eight-year-old son to drive his SUV, which the boy crashed into a tree late one night, according to court records.

Frank Gordon Conway, 46, was allegedly plastered when he let the child take over the driving duties around 9 PM on August 4. The boy, police noted, was seated between his father’s legs in the driver’s seat of a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The child, who was steering the vehicle and controlling its pedals, told police that he “drove in the yard, on the street and in the parking lot of the V.F.W. before re-entering the yard and hitting the wrong pedal which caused him to strike a tree,” according to an October 14 probable cause affidavit.

The car struck a tree near Conway’s home in Robinson, a township about 12 miles west of Pittsburgh.

The boy suffered injuries to his face and sternum in the crash, police reported. During a post-accident interview at the Indiana Regional Medical Center, a “highly intoxicated” Conaway told cops that he “did not see a problem” with his son driving the vehicle. Following that admission, “Charges were then filed.”

Pictured above, Conway is facing several criminal counts, including misdemeanor child endangerment and reckless endangerment, in connection with the crash. He is scheduled for a November 19 District Court preliminary hearing. (2 pages)