That’s right, a 7-year-old’s grandparents thought it was perfectly okay to attach her Hot Wheels behind their SUV and drive around all day with her in it. And we aren’t just talking about in their backyard going 5 mph (which is still dangerous and completely unacceptable), they actually took her out on the roads.
The child was wearing a swimsuit “and had no protective gear on whatsoever,” according to reports.
47-year old grandmother Belinda Jean Berloni admitted that towing her granddaughter behind an SUV “was dangerous” but “they were just having fun and had been doing this all day.” The plastic toy car was attached to the back of the car with just a few dog leashes.
According to a Sarasota County sheriff’s report, the child’s Grandfather, Paul Berloni, 49, had a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming off” of him, and his speech was “slowed and slurred with booze.” Berloni then admitted to the officer that he couldn’t provide a license or registration when he was pulled over because they had been revoked for a DUI ten years ago.
The Berlonis were arrested and are being held in the Sarasota County jail, with a charge of felony cruelty toward child. Paul Berloni was also charged with drunk driving and driving with a suspended license counts.