A Texas mother is facing criminal charges after she allegedly stuffed her 13-year-old son in the trunk of her car — because he tested positive for COVID-19 — and drove him to be tested again.
via NYP:
Sarah Beam, 41, allegedly packed up her son and took him to a drive-thru coronavirus testing center in Houston on Jan. 3, according to local outlet KPRC.
Witnesses reported hearing noises coming from the back of Beam’s vehicle when she pulled up to the tented testing center at Ken Pridgeon Stadium, according to court documents obtained by the outlet.
Bevin Gordon, the health services director at the site, asked Beam to open the trunk — revealing the teenager lying down inside, the charging docs state.
Beam, who has worked as a teacher in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District since 2011, explained she was trying to keep her son isolated.
“(The mother) stated that she put (her son) inside the trunk to prevent her from getting exposed to possible COVID while driving (him) to the stadium for additional testing,” the filing says.
Gordon told Beam that she and her son would not be tested until the teen was removed from the trunk and seated in the back seat of the car. He then called the police.
The school district runs the testing site and has its own police department which investigated the incident. Cops said the child “was not harmed.”
Surveillance footage from the testing site showed Beam opening the trunk door and her son climbing out, according to the probable cause statement.
The Cypress Fairbanks ISD Police Department said a warrant was issued for Beam’s arrest Friday on child endangerment charges.
Beam most recently worked as a teacher at Cypress Falls High School. She has been placed on administrative leave.
