Mom charged after 11-year-old girl drives brother home

PASADENA, Texas -- A mother is charged with two counts of child endangerment for allegedly allowing her 11-year-old daughter to drive her younger brother home.

Maria Lopez is in jail on a total of $3,000 bond after she gave permission for her children to drive home alone, according to Pasadena Police.

"Thank God no one was injured in the vehicle or in the public," said Vance Mitchell, Pasadena Police Department.

Mitchell said an officer spotted a Dodge Durango speeding along South Shaver Rd. Friday around 4:30 p.m. He said when the officer asked for a driver's license, the little girl said she was not speeding.

Mitchell said the girl indicated her mother has allowed her to drive in the past, but that this was the first time she had driven her brother alone. He said the children were with their aunt Friday afternoon, who then called the children's mother and asked if the children could drive themselves home.

"She gave her permission for them to drive over to the 1900 block of Lillian, and there again, that's probably two or three miles," Mitchell said.

Mitchell said the children are in the care of relatives while CPS conducts further investigation.