MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Mid-South mother was taken into custody after police say she was driving under the influence with three juveniles in the car.
Early Sunday morning, deputies responded to a vehicle that had gone off the roadway near mile marker 36 on Bill Morris Parkway. When they arrived, they said they found Jeri Kendall, 37, trying to drive the vehicle out of the median ditch to no avail.
The officer stated Kendall smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot and watery eyes, and was slurring her speech. She also said she didn’t know how the vehicle ran off the roadway.
Inside the vehicle were her three children. Deputies said one was unbuckled in the front passenger seat while two others were unbuckled in the back.
“If you drive around drinking and driving without seatbelts with your kids, then I think you need to be arrested,” resident Richard Scobey said.
Thankfully, the kids are all okay.
Police didn’t specify the children’s ages, but the mother was charged with three counts of violation of child restraint law under four years of age. Kendall was also charged with driving under the influence, child abuse and neglect, and child abuse.