ATV Driver Arrested for Endangering Kids

Written by KVIA-ABC News

Friday, March 13, 2009

Rachel Abell

A family outing on an ATV gets an El Paso father in trouble with the law.

The El Paso Sheriff's Office says 36-year old Jaime Diaz Trejo has been charged with 2 counts of Abandoning or Endangering a child.

This after Strike Team deputies say they saw him speeding in All Terrain Vehicle near in 12100 block of Socorro Road with two small children sitting in front of him between his legs.

Deputies say they saw heavy traffic and several pedestrians in the area Trejo was driving in so they stopped him.

While talking to Trejo, depties say they found out the kids were his 4-year old son and 7-year old cousin.

According to Sheriff's officials, neither child nor the driver was wearing helmets or any kind of protective gear.

Trejo allegedly told deputies he had just fixed the ATV and took the children with him to fill the tank with gas, but deputies say the station he was headed to was around 3 miles away.

Trejo was arrested and booked into the El Paso County Jail on an $8,000 bond, which has since been posted.

The children were turned over to a family member.

Source: http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=10003774

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“As a rancher who leases public lands for cattle, I’ve seen my share of cut fences and rangeland damaged by ORV use. I’ve also experienced ORV trespass onto my private lands. But I’ve had no way to identify the culprits when reporting trespass or illegal ORV use to local law enforcement. Congress should require that ORVs used on public lands have visible identification plates or decals. Doing so would remove the anonymity enjoyed by ORV riders who are bent on breaking the rules.”

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