Father allegedly drags son while on bumper of a van

Published 10:31 am Thursday, November 17, 2016

An Austin man allegedly drove his van for some distance late Wednesday, knowing his 14-year-old son was sitting on the vehicle’s back bumper, causing the teen to be injured.

The man could face charges of neglect, child endangerment and failure to stay at an accident scene, according to Police Chief Brian Krueger.

Authorities were called to the 500 block of Sixth Avenue Northwest at 11 p.m. Wednesday, where they found the teen sitting on the street curb with road rash along his side. The boy was also holding his right arm. Gold Cross Ambulance transported the teen to Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin.

Email newsletter signup

The extent of the injuries was not known on Thursday morning.

The teen told officers that he was pleading with his father not to leave their home.

The boy then sat on the bumper of his father’s van to keep him from leaving. The father drove away in the van with his son still trying to hang onto the vehicle. The teen then fell off the bumper, although it is unclear what distance was driven before he fell.

Officers later tracked the location of the father, who was then arrested. He remained in the Mower County Jail Thursday morning, awaiting formal charges.

Krueger said the man faces potential charges of neglect, child endangerment and failure to stay on the scene of an accident. The case has been turned over to the Mower County Attorney’s Office and the Mower County Health and Human Services Department.

Krueger said the teen is staying with his grandparents.