Mom Arrested for Texting and Driving with Child on Lap

A woman was arrested just off the San Diego Freeway in California on Tuesday for texting and driving with her 1-year-old daughter in her lap, reports the Los Angeles Daily News. 

Another driver witnessed Shawndeeia Joann Bowen, 29, of Hawthorne, C.A., driving without a seatbelt, cell phone-in-hand propped against the steering wheel, her infant daughter sitting in her lap. The witness called 911 and followed Bowen off an exit where she was arrested. 

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Bowen’s 2-year-old son was also with her in an unsecured car seat, and her 4-year-old daughter was riding without a seatbelt. Bowen was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment, her bail was set at more than $131,000, and the Department of Child and Family Services took all three children into custody. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 5,400 people died in car crashes in 2009 that were reported to involve a distracted driver and about 448,000 people were injured. California is one of the 34 states that currently outlaw all cell phone use while driving. 

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Not only did Bowen’s arrest occur during law enforcement's Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign, but she was also violating the California seat belt law, driving under probation after pleading no contest to a child abuse charge in early 2010, and had a suspended license. She has had two recorded car accidents as well as an impressive history of vehicle violations since 2009. 

What do you think should happen to Bowen's children?