'You're wet - ride in the boot!'

The boot of a Lexus similar to the one Susan McCarty was driving. Note the size of the through-hatch.

The boot of a Lexus similar to the one Susan McCarty was driving. Note the size of the through-hatch.

Published Sep 25, 2012

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Here's a conundrum: You've just arrived at the local amusement park in your fancy new Lexus with beautifully-trimmed leather upholstery to pick up your family, only to find that your 11-year-old nephew has just been on a water ride and he's dripping wet - and you don't have a towel in the car for him to sit on.

What to do?

Well, according to the StarTribune newspaper, if you're Susan McCarty, of Edina, Minnesota, you put him in the boot.

Witnesses in the car park said they saw a boy climb into the boot of the car, whereupon one of the other passengers shut the lid and the car drove away.

They gave the cops the car's number.

But by the time she was pulled over, McCarty had off-loaded the kids and was on her way home.

According to the StarTribune report, she told the police she'd opened the through-hatch in the rear seat so her nephew could breathe; when he complained he was getting hot (the temperature that day was in the low 30s) she pointed the rear aircon vents at the A4-sized hole in the rear seat.

He said later he would still rather have sat in the back seat.

McCarty was charged with child endangerment, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3000 (R25 000) fine.

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