Mother Allegedly Drove Over Son After Forcing Him To Walk Home From School: Report

A mother allegedly drove over her seven-year-old child in Alabama after she forced him to walk home from school as a punishment, according to the New York Post.

Sarai Rachel James, 27, allegedly ran over her son with her car Feb. 8 after she told him to walk or run home as a punishment for causing trouble at his school in Boaz, according to the outlet. The mother was informed of her son’s misbehavior by the school’s principal, prompting her to enact the punishment, according to the outlet.

Mom runs over 7-year-old son with car after forcing him to walk from school as punishmenthttps://t.co/TL2alcovC2

— Walter Straiten (@WalterStra86430) February 18, 2024

James drove behind or alongside the boy after she forced him to get out of the vehicle about eight blocks from home, the outlet reported. Before making it home, the boy attempted to grab the door handle of the reportedly slow-moving car before his mother accelerated. The boy was then dragged beneath the vehicle, Boaz Chief of Police Michael Abercrombie told McClatchy News.

“She may not have realized he was doing that,” Abercrombie said of the victim’s mother.

The child was transported to the University of Alabama hospital after the incident. He suffered abrasions on his back and the side of his head, according to the outlet. (RELATED: 1-Year-Old Girl Killed After Mom Allegedly Runs Her Over Accidentally)

“God watched over him,” the chief of police said, according to the outlet.

James was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse, the outlet reported. The suspect, who is now banned from having contact with her son, was released on a $50,000 bond three days after her arrest, jail records showed, according to the outlet.

A 53-year-old woman also in the vehicle at the time of the accident faces a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child. She was released from jail on a $500 bond, according to the outlet.