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Texas Mom Runs Over And Kills 3-Year-Old Son While ‘Playing Chicken’ With Her Kids, Authorities Say
"You should be playing Peek-A-Boo with a 3-year-old instead of forcing him to try and dodge a 5,600-pound deadly weapon," one law enforcement official said of defendant Lexus Stagg.
A Texas mom behind the wheel of her SUV was allegedly playing a game of chicken with her three children, when the game turned deadly.
Lexus Stagg is now facing charges of criminally negligent homicide after a video allegedly shows her running over her 3-year-old son with the vehicle, according to local station KTRK.
Houston police originally believed the 3-year-old’s June 11 death was an “unfortunate accident” after Staggs initially told them she'd accidentally backed over him, but video captured in the apartment building parking lot shows Stagg actually ran over the child going forward, according to authorities.
Just moments before, the SUV can be seen backing through the parking lot as Staggs' three children ran after her. Then the vehicle stops and begins to move forward. While her oldest two children were able to get out of the way of the vehicle, the 3-year-old got pinned under the right front tire.
Stagg then continued to move the car forward, running over the boy a second time with the back tire, prosecutors said, according to The Houston Chronicle.
"You should be playing Peek-A-Boo with a 3-year-old instead of forcing him to try and dodge a 5,600-pound deadly weapon," Harris County District Attorney's Office Vehicular Crimes Chief Sean Teare said.
The District Attorney’s office contends that Stagg had been playing around with her children when the child was struck.
“Every parent has an obligation to protect their children, even from themselves,” District Attorney Kim Ogg said, according to KTRK. “Cars aren’t toys and playing chicken with your kids isn’t a game.”
Neighbor Walter Turcios told the station he had witnessed the tragic event.
“I felt bad, because those parents, they were never there, they were kind of negligent,” he said.
Stagg’s bail was set at $1,500. She posted bond Friday and was released from custody.
Her two older children have been removed from the home as the case continues to unfold.
