An Indiana man accused of driving three blocks with four children strapped to the hood of his car was being held in jail on charges of drunken driving and neglect, police said.

Fort Wayne police said the mother of three of those children also was being held on neglect charges. The other child belonged to the man. None of the children – aged 4, 5, 6 and 7–were injured, according to police spokeswoman Raquel Foster.

A witness called police that evening after seeing a man and woman using a tow strap to tie the children to the car in a liquor store parking lot and then drive away, Foster said.

“Apparently they were traveling a short distance, and he believed they would enjoy it,” Foster said.

She said a U.S. marshal overheard the police radio traffic, spotted the car and pulled it over.

Foster said she had no information about the children’s reaction to the ride.

The man had a blood alcohol content of .17, more than twice Indiana’s legal limit for driving, Foster said. Police said the woman also appeared to be intoxicated. The man and woman’s relationship was unclear.

Bond was set at $13,000 for the man, while the woman has a $2,500 bond. The Associated Press is withholding their names to protect the identities of the children.

An officer at the Allen County Jail said he didn’t know if they had attorneys.

Source: The Journal Gazette, www.journalgazette.net

Apparently using your children as hood ornaments must seem like a good idea when you’re drunk. In this day and age where we gasp at seeing unrestrained kids in a car, you can imagine witnessing something as idiotic as this, even if they’re going a short distance!

I’m sure the kids thought it was a fun adventure, but as parents we should have the good sense to teach them that doing something like that is dangerous, besides being illegal. But, obviously that’s for parents who are responsible to begin with and would never drink and drive, especially with their children in the car (or in this case, on it). You can’t help but wonder if these kids would be better off without irresponsible parents.