Boy refuses to drive with parents, whom police charge with drunken driving

A 10-year-old boy refused rides from both his father and mother because they had been drinking and because the man hit a guardrail while trying to light a marijuana pipe, state police said.

Photo: Boy refuses to drive with parents, whom police charge with drunken driving

The father, Kenneth Sutton, was charged with driving under the influence and child endangerment. His wife, Paula Sutton, was charged with driving under the influence.

The boy told police that Kenneth Sutton, 41, had been drinking all day Saturday and was trying to light the pipe when he crashed on Route 60 in Center Township, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) northwest of Pittsburgh, police said Wednesday. Neither he nor the boy was hurt in the crash, police said.

The boy refused to get back in the car with his father, so Sutton drove off. Paula Sutton, who was traveling in a different car, tried to take the boy home, but he also refused to get in her vehicle, police said.

Instead, the boy began walking along the highway, where a passing motorist saw him and called police, reports AP.

Paula Sutton, 40, told the Beaver County Times on Monday that she and her husband never meant to endanger their son. She said the couple understood "what we did was not right" and that she "was trying to do the right thing" by picking up her son.

"You don't know how upset we are," she said. "This hasn't been a fun couple of days, let me tell you."