Indiana woman charged after daughter falls from roof of moving car and fractures skull, police say

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — A northwestern Indiana woman faces several charges after her 11-year-old daughter suffered multiple injuries falling from the roof of her moving car, court records say.

Records show the 36-year-old Portage woman was booked into the Porter County Jail on Tuesday and charged with two felony counts of neglect of a dependent, two misdemeanor counts of criminal recklessness and misdemeanor false informing stemming from the Aug. 3 incident, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported Wednesday.

A witness told police “the little girl said ‘Hi’ then ‘I’m going to fall,’” before falling to a street and being knocked unconscious, according to records.

The child suffered a skull fracture, a concussion and multiple abrasions to a shoulder, foot, elbow and side, police said.

The witness told police he saw the woman get out of the car, grab her daughter by an arm, place the child in the vehicle and drive away.

The woman told police she allows her daughter and her 9-year-old son to hang on to the back of her car and ride skateboards. She said she was driving 4 to 5 mph (about 6 to 8 kph) when she realized the girl had fallen off her skateboard, police said. She said she believed the girl struck her head, so she picked her up and drove her home.

But the witness told police that the girl was on the roof of the car and that he had also seen her driving with her children on top of it previously.