Mom caught driving while texting w/ baby in lap

[dynasaw]

Don't know about the rest of you, but I did a slow burn reading this. The freeway mentioned here for those who know southern Cal is also one of the busiest and trickiest.

"TORRANCE, Calif. (KABC) -- A woman who was arrested for driving with a cellphone in one hand and an infant on her lap made her first court appearance on Thursday.

Shawndeeia Bowen, 29, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon when a motorist spotted her driving on the 405 Freeway. Police said Bowen was texting while she had a 1-year-old on her lap and two unsecured children in the backseat.

"It's probably the most egregious case that I've heard of," said Torrance Police Sgt. Jennifer Udeya.

Bowen still had the phone in her hand and the baby in her lap when police pulled her over.

The district attorney's office filed misdemeanor child endangerment charges against the mother. Udeya said because the children were not harmed, the D.A. went with the misdemeanor charge.

All the three children were taken into protective custody. Bowen's bail has been set at $75,000.

"To me, it said neglect. Because she should have made sure that all her kids were secured in the car, and it's very dangerous for her to be driving with her baby in her lap," said Sharice Pompey of Moreno Valley.

This wasn't Bowen's first problem with the law. According to court records, she is already on probation for a previous child endangerment conviction. She also has a long history of moving violations, with at least six arrest warrants pending.

Officials say this story should serve as a reminder that April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month."
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8609346

[MrScorpio]

1. Was she drinking an Appletini too? nt

[hobbit709]

2. Proof once again that having brains is not a prerequisite for having kids.

[ejpoeta]

3. is there a link for this? it's terrible! how did she not have an accident!

[treestar]

4. This person has reproduced?

Geez I hope Dad's genes are enough to allow these kids to survive!

[LeftinOH]

5. Well, her facebook page shows how classy she is (with link):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/05/shawndeeia-bowen-arrested_n_1406565.html



Some people are just plain trash.

[get the red out]

8. Poor choices

She appears to make poor clothing choices for her body type.

[Ecumenist]

16. Here, let me help you out- SHE'S TACKY!! Period. You're nice in the way you put things

but as a black woman, I have to say she's an embarrassment and she's tacky as hell!

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

33. WTF is that supposed to mean? A bit more subtlety and you might actually be around for longer. nt

[Ecumenist]

35. EXACTLY, Whitey Corngood. I knew the second I read the post that it was a " new" DUer.

Sounds a bit trollish... doesn't it?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

36. Indeed, read the last post on the thread. nt

[Ecumenist]

38. I think "it" misread my post and assumed when I said, "as a Black woman", that I was referring to

the subject of the article and not myself. I think that's why it felt like she could say something that has a strong racist tinge.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

39. You were right though. It was a short stay. nt

[Ecumenist]

34. Actually, I have, seeing as how I'M A BLACK WOMAN and I have had to deal with poor souls

like her. It's sad. Not quite sure why you brought up the thing about the epithet n****r. It's ignorant and it's possesses a painful history.

[libra super moon]

32. Is there a person on the planet

who should wear such a get-up? But in any case, fashion disasters are not indicative of a person's character. Let's get rid of such superficial guideposts.

[Snake Alchemist]

19. Whenever you see people using a mirror to post self-portraits it is a bad sign. nt

[LeftinOH]

23. The self-portrait in the car is ironic, no?

[libra super moon]

31. Tats are a nice touch!

[JNelson6563]

6. Mom of the year!

Seriously though, WTF?

[get the red out]

7. And we have people in this country against birth control!

Some people just don't get it.

[Zalatix]

18. So we answer this woman's crimes by saying her KIDS should not exist?

How about she have her driver's license taken away forever. And if we take her kids from her how about we NOT separate them like they usually do?

[get the red out]

41. Dear God

When did I say all that?

Sorry you didn't get the joke.

[Zalatix]

42. Why else did you even mention birth control?

Birth control has nothing to do with this. Being a bad person does.

She could have hit another car and killed some good, law-abiding person's 6 kids.

[get the red out]

44. OH please, I have no clue what you are opposing or defending here

Every comment someone makes in a bit of jest isn't meant as some kind of attack, lighten up! It's not necessary to be on the defensive at all times.

BUT, since you mentioned it, if birth control were outlawed and no one had any decent means of preventing unintended pregnancy, don't you think the incidence of child neglect and endangerment would skyrocket? I certainly do!!! Just a thought since I'm supposed to be a hideous person anyway.

And I'm not the one who DARED call her a bad person. Perhaps she's just uneducated in various dangers inherent in certain behaviors.

And how dare I mention birth control? just for that BIRTH CONTROL BIRTH CONTROL BIRTH CONTROL BIRTH CONTROL BIRTH CONTROL, LOL, every word someone types isn't meant as an attack so grave that they MUST be taken to task by the DU police!

[Zalatix]

46. So you admit birth control had no relevance to this discussion at all?

Nice caps, BTW.

[get the red out]

47. I admit to making a joke, that ended up relevant

It really is relevant, since you mention it, we would see much more child neglect and endangerment if we did not have birth control.

I still don't know how you got that DU police badge though. Sarcasm and jest in a thread isn't really the end of the world.

[Zalatix]

48. Yes, very true, but that's not relevant to this story.

This person would still probably be texting while driving even if she was sterile from birth. She would still be a danger to others.

Less access to reliable birth control does mean more child neglect and endangerment. But access to it would not have made this person any less dangerous. Birth control would be utterly tangential to this story.

[get the red out]

50. I think so

We've already got a lot of people that just don't think and therefor put their kids in danger, and there are people in our society (Republicans) that pursue policies that will just add to the current problem, which this lady represents.

[cindyperry2010]

9. having any sense at all

is not a requirement for having kids

[sammytko]

13. The story in the link says she has SIX kids!

[Snake Alchemist]

20. The other 3 were either on the roof or in the trunk. nt

[libra super moon]

29. 28 and 6 kids?

((facepalm))

[Liberal_in_LA]

52. not uncommon in the US until the last few decades.

[Ezlivin]

10. Twit tweeting twaddle threatens three

N/T

[Mr Dixon]

11. SMH

Saw this last night, so Sad we need to end the cycle

[Marrah_G]

12. I do hope she is never given custody back of those children

She is obviously oblivious to even the most basic needs for their safety.

[Snake Alchemist]

21. In a perfect world.

But she most certainly will be given them back.

[Zalatix]

22. More likely she will go to prison and the kids will be taken away from her

then they will be split up. It's not as bad as them dying in an accident, but it will ruin them for life.

[Snake Alchemist]

24. If she goes to prison, they will likely go to a family member and then back to her.

It is painfully (that is the appropriate word) difficult to take a child away from a parent. My wife works a lot with CPS and it'll bring you to tears watching them bend over backwards to keep a child with the parent in some pretty horrendous circumstances.

If they do take them away from the parents then they always try to place it with a family member. Often what happens is that kids end up going to live with grandma who raised the mother that had the kids taken away. Even if they do go into foster care, if a family member of any sort comes forward and wants to take the kids, then they get first consideration. It can be heartbreaking for foster parents who are trying to adopt.

[Zalatix]

25. Ok, I was assuming that it would be difficult to happen with so many kids.

Sounds like she's got 6 kids. I thought it would be hard to place them all with, say, grandma or another family member.

[Snake Alchemist]

26. You'd be surprised at the nonsense that CPS can come up with.

Sounds like you would be a good person to be running it since you actually rely on some logic and compassion.

[Zalatix]

27. LOL thanks, I would need to learn more about social work, etc.

so that some of my well-intentioned reforms wouldn't go awry.

[dynasaw]

14. So what do you do with people like this?

Previous convictions, moving violations, and nothing changes her behavior?

[WI_DEM]

15. some people have no sense at all.

[Javaman]

17. Upon arrest, Ms. Bowen was quoted as saying...

"britney spears is my hero".

Ouch! too soon? LOL

[Ecumenist]

37. How do you know her mother named her? Often, in some region of American black culture, The

father or grandmother names the child. It may not be what I would choose but it's not rocket science. SHAWN-DEE-IA....I'm assuming that the accent is on the second syllable. Welcome to DU and enjoy your stay!

[renate]

40. drivers who text drive me crazy, and a friend's friend's baby died on her mother's lap in a car

Only drunk driving bothers me more, but driving while texting, applying makeup, etc is about as bad. (I once saw somebody driving and reading a full-sized NEWSPAPER.) I can't stand it when people decide that they don't need to follow the rules for public safety that protect others. Risk your own life if you want to, but other people's lives are not your own to roll the dice on.

[customerserviceguy]

49. We need to ban texting, period

Cut it off at the source with the telco companies. We didn't need it twenty years ago, and we don't need it now.

All we're waiting for is the body count to get high enough, just like the wars that seem so fun and harmless when we get into them.

[Taverner]

43. OMG....was she leaving the Olive Garden?

[blueamy66]

45. who the hell names their child

Shawndeeia??

Are you kidding me?

[AtomicKitten]

51. Child endangerment due to recalcitrant ignorance.