A routine shopping trip at a Once Upon A Child in Boardman turned into a parking lot scare after witnesses said a young boy was struck and dragged by an SUV. Cellphone video allegedly shows the child clinging to the open door of a 2023 Ford Edge as it rolled through the plaza. When the vehicle finally stopped, the boy's mother stepped out, and employees later told police the SUV had been driven recklessly.
Authorities identified the driver as 24-year-old Raymond Hammond and said he was taken into custody and charged with child endangering, a misdemeanor, according to MyFox28. Boardman police said they were called to the Poland Road plaza after multiple people reported a child hanging from the door of a moving SUV. A store employee told officers the boy had been running after the vehicle before grabbing onto the door.
Video And Witness Accounts
Investigators said the incident was partially caught on video when a woman on a video call with her sister started recording what appears to show the boy hanging from the SUV's door. Witnesses told police the Ford Edge kept moving as the child clung to the side. Hammond later told investigators that he and a woman "wanted to scare" the boy because he was not listening, according to WFMJ.
Charges And Court Date
Hammond was arrested on a misdemeanor child endangering charge and later released while awaiting a court appearance that had been scheduled for May 19, authorities said, according to MyFox28. Boardman police said Hammond and the woman with him were also trespassed from the Once Upon A Child property.
What The Law Says
Ohio's endangering-children statute can be charged as a first-degree misdemeanor and may be upgraded to a felony if the child suffers serious physical harm or if other aggravating factors apply, according to the Ohio Revised Code. The law also allows courts to impose driver's license suspensions and other penalties in certain cases.
