We checked but couldn’t find a clause in the Fair Debt Collection Practices act that dealt with the legal implications of repossessing a SUV with a 4-year-old child inside of it, but we’re fairly sure it’s not really allowed.
Select Recovery of Aurora, IL repossessed a Ford Excursion on Thursday, but they didn’t notice 4-year-old Fashawn Parker sitting in the back seat.
“Apparently they had given the vehicle a cursory check,” Dan Ferrelli, an Aurora Police spokesperson, told WBBM. “They looked through the front windows. They didn’t find anything in there and were unaware that the boy was in the back.”
The driver of the car was inside the house picking up another child when the vehicle was repossessed. “He had said that a vehicle he was driving that belonged to one of his relatives was being towed away and that there was a four-year-old boy inside of it,” said Ferrelli.
Luckily, the kid is some sort of crazy action star. When the car slowed down to pass through a construction zone, little Fashawn unlocked the door and jumped out of the moving car.
WBBM says no charges against the Select Recovery are expected. The 4-year-old was treated at the hospital for a few cuts and bruises and released.
According to the FTC’s consumer information about vehicle repossession, some states would consider stealing someone’s 4-year-old, even inadvertantly, a “breach of the peace,” and, if so, the vehicle’s owner may be entitled to compensation.
Boy Jumps From SUV Being Towed [WBBM via Jalopnik]
(Photo:WBBM)
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Fashawn? hopefully the poor kid will have enough sense to change his name when he moves out, though smarts and responsibility don’t seem to be strongly represented in his family. He seems to be athletically gifted though.
Dirtbag leaves chil’n in car they can’t afford, and don’t own because they haven’t been paying thier bills. They can’t take care of thier chil’n and they can’t take care of thier bills. Hell, the repo-men are probably better parents.
The irony here? A gazillion $$ suit will be filed against the repo company, resulting ultimately in a settlement that will enable the unfortunately named boy’s parents to purchase a new car outright with cash.
Of course, there will be a Johnny Cochrane-esque lawyer involved who will needless to say, try the case in the media first.
Are the parents due some compensation? Without question. Will there be an utter circus? You bet.
@Ryuuie:
Here’s a crazy idea – what kind of parenting is going on when a kid thinks it is okay to jump out of a moving vehicle?
@TechnoDestructo: You’ll have to bend over backwards to sell a car if you don’t have a title, but it’ll be worth it in the end.
I made it sound easier than it actually is, sorry about that. But a repo on your credit report sucks. Avoid it at all costs, kinda like how you would with a bankruptcy. But at least with a bankruptcy you are free from all responsibilities of the loan (well maybe not anymore with the new bankruptcy laws). Repossession alone means you still owe the bank the money.
@Floobtronics:
Not a chance.
No attorney would take such a case as it has all sorts of holes in it.
The parents aren’t due any compensation, as the repo company will claim that they looked in the vehicle and didn’t see a kid. 4 year olds are supposed to sit in car seats. Clearly, they didn’t see him in one.
Plus, you aren’t supposed to leave your kid unattended in a car. period.
I’d bet my screenname that the best that will happen is that the repo company will cover hospital costs, if anything. The parents aren’t due squat. The more I think about it, the more I blame them.
1) never leave your kid unattended in a car, not even for a few minutes. it’s not a crib. There are cigarette lighters that can kill them, numerous choking hazards, and plenty of bad stuff that can happen.
2) 4 year olds are supposed to be in car seats. Why wasn’t this kid in one?
3) Kids are supposed to be taught not to jump out of moving vehicles or open car doors when the car is moving.
4) Don’t leave your kid in a car when you have defaulted on the loan for the car.
Had the kid not jumped, they would have found him and gotten him back to the parents quickly.
Had they not left the kid in a car slated for repo, this never would have happened.
Had they kept him in a car seat, this never would have happened.
For all we know, the family may have also been behind on their kid payments and the repo man was just being efficient.
Just to clear something up for those of you who are tearing into this kids parents for leaving their kid in a SUV they knew would be repo’d : nowhere does it say the driver was the childs parent. It also says that the drive claimed not to be the owner, they were just borrowing it from a friend. As far as we can tell, the parents might not have been involved at all, other than to trust their child with a less than trustworthy friend or family member.
@ BADHATHARRY
I was thinking the same thing. I bet it the repo men were employed by the hospital to repossess the kid after the family fell behind on the payments.
Sorry, I just finished reading hospital billing the homeless guy story prior to reading this story and couldn’t help myself.
But seriously, you don’t leave your kid behind in the car, no matter what. This case illustrates exactly why. You never know what can happen. When I was 4 yrs old, I got into a car that my dad and cousin had jacked up to work on. I released the parking brake and nearly crushed my cousin when the car rolled off the jack. Whoops…
It was stupid of them.. I could see something happening…
But.. Stupid. It wasn’t kidnapping. There was absolutely no intent to break the law here.
@killavanilla: The article says they looked through the front windows so who knows what was in back (the repo guy certainly doesnt) I’d like to think a kid would jump out of the car actually. I mean what if a thief had taken the car. With all the stupid lawsuits in this country dont tell me no attorney wouldnt take this case. While I’m not saying these were great parents, the repo man should check the vehicle (by opening doors) and make sure nobody is inside.
@Bourque77:
If they had looked in the window, they would have been able to see a car seat. They also would have been able to see a 4 year old in a car seat. And if the kid WAS in a car seat, they wouldn’t have been able to get out to jump.
And you LIKE the idea that a kid would jump out of a car?
What kind on farty nonsense is that?
You teach your kids that they are supposed to stay seated in the car. You teach them that they are never to open the door when the car is moving.
But most importantly, the chances of a theif taking a car with a kid in it is greatly reduced if you don’t leave your kid in the car alone.
I doubt the recovery company will get any more penalty than for towing a vehicle with a passenger inside (probably a ticket and a fine). I think all states say that tow trucks cannot tow a vehicle with an occupant. Its how alot of people keep from getting their car towed for unpaid parking tickets. If you’re in the vehicle they can’t tow.
Kid must have seen the episode of Dora the Explorer where she taught everyone how to “tuck and roll.”