An Oregon woman was arrested on Wednesday after she towed three small children in a plastic wagon while driving her vehicle down a roundabout filled with heavy traffic.
The Oregonian reports that Alana Nicole Donahue, 27, is accused of putting her two children, ages three and five, and her 8-year-old nephew in a tiny, red plastic wagon, and attaching it with a rope to the back of her white Ford Taurus. She pulled the children in her car several times around a traffic-filled area in Springfield. Donahue apparently admitted to officers that she indeed towed her children in the wagon, but that it “wasn’t a big deal.”
According to Lt. Scott McKee, of the Springfield Police Department, witnesses who saw the incident described it much differently.
“I talked to a witness today that said she saw them go by her house in their neighborhood and they were going like 30 miles an hour.”
The Springfield Police Department released a statement after the ordeal, and described how a witness saw two of the young children scared and crying while being towed.
“That same witness reported observing Donohue pull over and move the toddler from the wagon to the car and then continue driving with the 4-year-old and the 8-year-old still in the wagon…Given the time of day, it’s right at 5 o’clock, it’s a busy intersection.”
Four people called police after witnessing the incident. One caller said that Donahue was waving for cars to go around her as she drove around in circles, causing a traffic backup.
The Department of Human Services placed the children in the care of another family member. None of the children were physically hurt during the incident, but McKee stressed that a tragic accident could have easily happened.
“The kids are on a short rope so there’s not a lot margin for error. It’s really lucky that nothing more serious happened.”
[Feature Photo: Springfield Police Department]
