Intoxicated Mississippi man arrested for allowing 8-year-old son to drive
A father was arrested this morning in Livingston Parish after state troopers discovered his 8-year-old son was driving the family from Mississippi to Dallas while the man slept, intoxicated.
Billy Joe Madden
The father, Billy Joe Madden, 28, of Hattiesburg, Miss., was arrested and booked into the Livingston Parish Jail.
Louisiana State Police Troop A received a call around 6:30 a.m. from a concerned motorist traveling west on Interstate 12 near Holden, said state police spokeswoman Melissa Matey.
The driver said a green Chevrolet pick-up truck was moving erratically and a child appeared to be the driver.
Troopers stopped the pick-up truck on I-12, just west of LA 447 in Livingston Parish.
Madden was in the passenger seat while his 8-year-old son drove and his 4-year-old daughter sat in the back seat, Matey said. No one was injured.
Matey said troopers determined Madden was intoxicated while interviewing him.
Both children were turned over to child protective services and are awaiting the arrival of a family member.
Officials booked Madden with allowing a minor to drive, keeping an open container in the vehicle, driving without a seat belt, two counts of child desertion and two counts of no child restraint.
His bond was set at $1,474.
A father was arrested this morning in Livingston Parish after state troopers discovered his 8-year-old son was driving the family from Mississippi to Dallas while the man slept, intoxicated.
Billy Joe Madden
The father, Billy Joe Madden, 28, of Hattiesburg, Miss., was arrested and booked into the Livingston Parish Jail.
Louisiana State Police Troop A received a call around 6:30 a.m. from a concerned motorist traveling west on Interstate 12 near Holden, said state police spokeswoman Melissa Matey.
The driver said a green Chevrolet pick-up truck was moving erratically and a child appeared to be the driver.
Troopers stopped the pick-up truck on I-12, just west of LA 447 in Livingston Parish.
Madden was in the passenger seat while his 8-year-old son drove and his 4-year-old daughter sat in the back seat, Matey said. No one was injured.
Matey said troopers determined Madden was intoxicated while interviewing him.
Both children were turned over to child protective services and are awaiting the arrival of a family member.
Officials booked Madden with allowing a minor to drive, keeping an open container in the vehicle, driving without a seat belt, two counts of child desertion and two counts of no child restraint.
His bond was set at $1,474.
