Mother of the Year Nominee

[smfrazier]

Cashierbex's post about the mother who left her kids in the car reminded me of something that happened years ago when I worked at a convenience store. It wasn't at my regular store, I was just filling in for about a week.

A women came in to shop. Almost immediately she ran out the door yelling. I looked out the door and saw her car rolling back towards a busy four lane highway. Luckily, the car was stopped by a telephone pole. What had happened was, she had left a young child in the car. This was before young children were required to be in the back strapped in a car seat, so he was able to get to the gear shift lever and get it out of park. Fortunately, he wasn't hurt.

But that's not what made her a Mother of the Year nominee. This was:

A couple of days later the exact same thing happened. She left the child in the car again, the car got out of gear, the car rolled backwards towards the street. God must have been looking out for this child even if the mother wasn't. He was saved by the same telephone pole.

I went back to my regular store the next day, so I don't know if she learned her lesson after the second time. I hope God contiued to look out for him.

[BroSCFischer]

I hope God contiued to look out for him.

Well, his mom certainly wasn't!

SC

[Pharm Girl]

That is generally how it goes. Irresponsible parents' children come through harrowing circumstances unscathed but let a diligent parent get distracted for a second and their kid breaks a limb, gets hit by a car or kidnapped. When my kids were little the neighbor's 4 yr old would lay on the street and look down the sewer. We lived on a little used side street but still. Let my kids do something like that for a second and they'd have been run over for sure.

[Marmalady]

A friend of mine who loves in Holland told me about something that happened in Utrecht last year (October / November, IIRC)
From what I recall, a woman had left her two children in the car while she popped in to get something / have a word / whatever with some former colleagues... whether the handbrake failed or the kids made the car move, I don't know, but the car ended up in the canal.

[Argabarga]

I came very close to getting crushed by a rolling car like that. There's a multi level parking lot built on a hill in town here, it's two terraced levels. The "bottom" one is even with the street on the downhill side with a stone wall that separates it from the elevated "upper" part that you can only get into by going one block up the hill and entering at the top where it's level with the street up there.

One night, I was walking along the wall when I heard a loud "CRUNCH!" from about 4 feet behind me. I turned around, and didn't immediately see anything, but then noticed that the visible noses of the two cars above and behind me on that top level seemed to be at funny angles.

I ran around to the top and found that someone's car had popped out of gear and started rolling across the upper lot , crossed the middle row, and was headed for the drop over the stone wall. The only thing that stopped it was it brushed up against the side of a Jeep that was parked facing out over the stone wall/drop. And the Jeep was the ONLY car on that side. Had it not been there, the car would've just rolled right over the edge, right into where I'd just walked through. There is no safety rail, just a curb, and it was going fast enough at that point, based on the deep gouges in both vehicles from the collision, that 4 inches of asphalt berm wouldn't have slowed it down.

I called the police who came out and made a report, as by that time the owner of the runaway car had returned. The cops reminded him that for cars with standard transmissions, the parking brake should (and according to vehicle code, MUST) be used ALL THE TIME, as the owner had neglected to set it. Expensive lesson for him no doubt.

[bhskittykatt]

We had a case here locally a couple years back, iirc. A woman left her kids in the car, with the car running, while she went inside the store. Two other women came up, stole the car with the kids still in the car, and sped off towards Canada. There was a high-speed chase, and they tried to run the border, but ultimately they didn't make it and were arrested. The kids were okay, thankfully.

[Argabarga]

We had a case here locally a couple years back, iirc. A woman left her kids in the car, with the car running, while she went inside the store. Two other women came up, stole the car with the kids still in the car, and sped off towards Canada. There was a high-speed chase, and they tried to run the border, but ultimately they didn't make it and were arrested. The kids were okay, thankfully.

Find a way to take all of that and involve a dog, a briefcase full of cash and a cantankerous but loveable Bill Murray, and you've got yourself this summer's greatest comedy hit!

[Food Lady]

My mom left us in the car once, just to deliver something to someone. Within a couple of minutes my toddler brother climbed over the seat into the front and shifted it out of park. We rolled down the hill, headed for the bottom of a ravine. My panicking and jumping out the door saved us because the door caught on a boulder. My mom wasn't perfect, but I still consider her a good mom. She just underestimated my brother. People usually do.

[Mystic]

The cops reminded him that for cars with standard transmissions, the parking brake should (and according to vehicle code, MUST) be used ALL THE TIME, as the owner had neglected to set it.

I actually never knew this was a law. Thanks for the heads up.

[MoonCat]

That is generally how it goes. Irresponsible parents' children come through harrowing circumstances unscathed but let a diligent parent get distracted for a second and their kid breaks a limb, gets hit by a car or kidnapped. When my kids were little the neighbor's 4 yr old would lay on the street and look down the sewer. We lived on a little used side street but still. Let my kids do something like that for a second and they'd have been run over for sure.

In my old neighborhood there was a kid like that. He would lie in the street and roll back and forth. One time I saw him jumping out at cars in the very busy street that ran past the end of the block. He looked about 7 years old. I have no idea if he made it to age 8!

[Ironclad Alibi]

Find a way to take all of that and involve a dog, a briefcase full of cash and a cantankerous but loveable Bill Murray, and you've got yourself this summer's greatest comedy hit!

What is the name of that movie? I couldn't find it on IMDB.com.