Fairbanks mom who let 7-year-old son drive sentenced
By Chris Freiberg
Daily News Miner
Originally published Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 1:08 p.m.
Updated Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 12:00 a.m.
FAIRBANKS — A Fairbanks woman who let her 7-year-old son drive while she was passed out drunk in the passenger seat has been sentenced to six months in jail with all but 20 days suspended.
A judge ordered Karen Koch, 37, to report to jail by Oct. 1. She will be on probation for three years and have to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings three times per week for the next six months.
“While life as a single mother is hard, turning to alcohol and making stupid decisions puts the public at risk, puts you at risk and puts your child at risk,” District Court Judge Raymond Funk told Koch.
Koch pleaded guilty to one count of reckless endangerment in exchange for prosecutors dropping the other charge of allowing an unauthorized person to drive. Sentencing was up to the judge at Wednesday morning’s hearing.
A neighbor at the Lakeview Terrace mobile home park called troopers in May after seeing a young boy driving a silver Mazda Protege with a passed out adult passenger.
The neighbor told troopers that the young driver came within a few feet of striking her parked vehicle.
Troopers were able to trace the plates to Koch’s nearby home and arrived just as the boy was exiting the driver’s seat.
Koch, who had leaned back in the front passenger’s seat, woke up a few minutes later and identified the child as her son.
She told the trooper that she let her son drive the car from a nearby stop sign and did not see what the problem was, according to court records.
Koch, who has three previous convictions for drunken driving, did not make a statement during the hearing.
Funk compared the punishment to what a defendant would usually receive for a second DUI conviction. Because two of her convictions are more than 10 years old, if Koch had been charged with drunken driving, it would have been considered a second offense.
Koch’s public defender, Katie Kelliher, contended that Koch was sober as she let the boy drive home, and as the boy was listening to radio in the car, Koch went inside and had two drinks, which is when troopers arrived.
“Ms. Koch has realized she made a mistake,” Kelliher said. “She misunderstood what she could and couldn’t do with allowing her child to drive. ... Alcohol was not a factor in her decision making until after the incident.”
However, Funk said that regardless of whether Koch was sober, it was a poor decision to let such a young child drive.
“I’m worried that if anything I’m being too lenient,” he said. “I want you to understand that it’s appalling to let a 7-year-old drive, and to say you didn’t see the problem is just horrific.”
Koch’s sentence is slightly longer than that of a Fairbanks man who in August 2007 was convicted of letting his 11-year-old son get behind the wheel because he was too drunk to drive. In that case, the man was sentenced to more than three months in jail with all but 15 days suspended.
May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008