Dad of the year candidate

rufus · May 8, 2012

4 kids strapped to car; driver arrested

Police have charged a man accused of driving three blocks with four young children strapped to the hood of his vehicle with driving while intoxicated and neglect of a dependent.

Fort Wayne police were called about 5:30 p.m. Monday after someone saw a man and woman strap four children to the hood of a car in the parking lot of a liquor store at 2116 Fairfield Ave. and then drive away, according to a statement from police spokesman John Chambers.

The witness told police he saw a man and woman using a tow strap to tie the children to the car and then drive away, police spokeswoman Foster said.

"Apparently they were traveling a short distance, and he believed they would enjoy it," Foster said.

She said a U.S. marshal overheard the police radio traffic, spotted the car and pulled it over.

Foster said she had no information about the children's reaction to the ride.

The man had a blood-alcohol content of 0.17 percent, more than twice Indiana's legal limit for driving, Foster said. The man and woman's relationship was unclear.

Bond was set at $13,000 for the man, while the woman has a $2,500 bond.

The marshal stopped the car in the 400 block of Poplar Street 0.2 miles or about three blocks away, Chamber's statement said.

The children were 4, 5, 6 and 7 years old, and they were not injured.

Foster issued a statement Tuesday morning that said Aaron S. Stefanski, 29, of Fort Wayne, faces felony neglect charges and three counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and that Jessica A. Clark, 29, of Fort Wayne, also faces a felony neglect charge or charges.

Foster's statement said the incident remains under investigation by the Fort Wayne Police Department, the Department of Child Services and the Allen County Prosecutor's Office.