Shocking moment boy, 4, grips on for dear life as his mother speeds down a highway with him on the roof of her car – and witnesses claim she KNEW he was up there
- Witnesses claim mother regularly lets her four-year-old ride on roof of her car
- Footage of a nappy-clad child on the roof of a moving car has gone viral
- The child's mother, aged 36, is being questioned by police over the incident
- The child is alleged to have been on the top of the car for about 15 minutes
- Incident occurred in Western Australia and witnesses felt 'sick to the stomach'
- Do you know more? Email nic.white@mailonline.com
Published: 07:50 AEST, 7 January 2019 | Updated: 09:15 AEST, 7 January 2019
New footage of a four-year-old boy holding on to the roof of a car in nothing but a nappy has emerged, and witnesses have claimed his mother knew he was up there.
Hair-raising video of the mother driving through Harrisdale, Western Australia, as concerned drivers tried to flag her down on Friday afternoon shocked the country.
Concerned drivers attempted to alert the mother, who eventually responded to flashing lights and beeping horns and pulled over.
Witnesses are claiming a mother who left her nappy-wearing toddler on the roof of her car while driving for 15 minutes knew what she was doing and has done it before
Witnesses claimed when the mother got out of the car she genuinely seemed unaware her son was sitting on the roof.
She grabbed him and put him in the car before driving off, but onlookers say the child holding onto the roof racks wasn't distressed.
But witnesses who watched on in horror as the toddler clung to a car roof while his mother zipped through traffic claim the incident isn't a one-off.
They said this isn't the first time the mother has allowed her child up on the roof while driving, Nine News reported.
Natalie Sharp commented on Facebook that the mother did know the child was up on the roof and often drives around with him up there.
'She didn't stop when alerted by other drivers,' Ms Sharp said.
'People have reported her before on other incidences of child neglect and endangement [sic]. How this kid is still with her is beyond me. Disgusting.'
Footage shows a silver Holden travelling along Wright Road in Harrisdale, Western Australia, before 6pm on Friday night
'No sympathy for the mother, she knew he was up there as they've done it plenty of times and been caught before,' another person wrote.
'Bystanders have waved the mother down previously, her comment is that she likes it and she does it a fair bit,' another said.
Two other children were in the car but properly restrained at the time the young child was seen clinging to roof racks.
'The child seemed fine and looked like he was enjoying himself,' a witness said.
Other witness said they felt 'sick to the stomach' after seeing the young child on the moving car.
When the mother stopped at a service station nearby, police caught up to her where they found the child in the car but unrestrained.
Police have since alleged the 36-year-old failed to properly restrain her child and could have landed herself in hot water.
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A young boy is lucky to be alive after riding on a vehicle’s roof rack along a major West Australian freeway.
Distressing footage shows the four-year-old child, who is wearing a nappy, sitting in the rack of the Holden Captiva as it drives down the Tonkin Highway between Camillo and Harrisdale on Friday afternoon.
Kyle Jansen, who was travelling behind the car can be heard yelling, “what the f***?”, as he caught the incident on camera. The footage has since gone viral on social media.
“He was just sort of gripping on and you can see him move to the one side and come back,” Mr Jansen told 7News.
The boy, 4, can be seen riding in the basket roof rack on top of the Holden Captiva on Friday. Source: 7 News
“He was just giggling, he was having a ball, I couldn’t believe it.”
Motorists eventually managed to get the attention of the boy’s mother who stopped and placed the boy in the car, which had two other children inside, before driving away.
It is not clear whether the driver knew the child was outside the vehicle.
Police responded after calls came in and found the Holden pulling into a petrol station in Harrisdale where three children, two secured in child restraint seats, were seen in the car.
West Australian police have been speaking to a woman, 36, but told Yahoo7 News no charges have been laid.