A Detroit woman, who is facing child abuse charges after her nieces and nephew were spotted hanging out of her car windows while she was driving, has expressed remorse over her actions. According to FOX 2 Detroit, the suspect, identified as Ashjunaria Virginia Townsend, filmed the February 10 incident.
Two of the female minors seen hanging out of Townsend’s car windows are both aged 10 while the other girl is 9 years old. The suspect’s nephew is 5 years old. The suspect, who was ultimately arrested on February 19, has since been charged with second-degree child abuse and reckless driving.
“I want to clear up that I am remorseful. First of all, I’d like to say that I’ve already apologized to the parents of the kids,” Townsend told the news outlet after the video of the incident was circulated on social media. “I do regret letting them hang out of the window. I definitely do feel sorry for that because it could’ve went badly.”
Despite expressing regret over her actions, Townsend said she was driving at only 2 miles per hour when the minors were hanging out of her car windows. “My family is willing to vouch. They are ready to go to war behind me and do whatever it takes to show that I’m a great auntie,” she added.
But Detroit Police Chief James White said he feared for the safety of the minors when he saw the video. “Looking at it, I was fearful for the kids’ safety, number one, but it’s outrageous,” White stated.
“As you saw with one of the kids, it looked like the child was about to lose her balance in one of the turns. That just could’ve been disastrous.”
