Authorities in Louisiana arrested a mother after she allegedly ran over her child with a car and left the boy to his fate before she falsely claimed he had been kidnapped. Per ABC News, police said the November 5 incident happened after the boy threw a tantrum.
The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office in a statement said that authorities on the night of the incident responded to a report claiming that a child had been kidnapped close to U.S. 190 and Industrial Road in the wee hours of November 5.
“The mother, Artasia Quantaya Viges, reported that individuals in an older model truck had kidnapped her son as she was parked on the roadway attending to a deflated tire,” authorities said.
But deputies who went to the location got to know that citizens there had rather found the boy in a parking lot. Police said the boy was alone and had suffered knee injuries when he was found.
“The child stated to officers that his mother ‘ran him over’ and left him on the side of the road,” authorities said. The boy later received medical attention at a hospital he was taken to.
“A subsequent interview with Artasia Viges revealed the awful truth; there was no kidnapping and a young child was left unattended along a major roadway and allowed to run off in the night,” police said, adding that Viges’ reaction stemmed from the boy throwing a tantrum.
Police said that the boy was “obviously not properly restrained” after he exited the car and bolted when Viges was stopping the vehicle, ABC News reported. The child sustained the injuries as a result.
“The mother chose to leave the child out of the car, allowing him to run off in the dark, along major roadways,” police said. “The mother admitted to detectives that she did not attempt to go after him and ultimately lost sight of him.”
