Driver stopped while texting, holding baby in lap
TORRANCE, Calif. (KABC) — Police arrested a woman who was driving with a cellphone in one hand and her baby daughter in her lap in Torrance.
Shawndeeia Bowen was arrested on Thursday after she exited off the 405 Freeway at Hawthorne and Torrance boulevards.
Bowen was apparently driving while texting on her cellphone, with a 1-year-old on her lap and two unsecured children in the backseat. A tipster spotted the 29-year-old and called 911.
Bowen still had the phone in her hand and the baby in her lap when police pulled her over.
All the three children were taken into protective custody. Bowen was already on five years of probation for a child abuse charge she pleaded no contest to in 2010 and was driving on a suspended license. She was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment with bail set at $131,000.
Officials say this story should serve as a reminder that April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
Source: KABC Image: KABC / FACEBOOK 5 April 2012
7:38a.m. P.D.T.