Anchorage Daily News

FAIRBANKS -- An intoxicated Fairbanks woman let her 7-year-old son drive her car as she was passed out next to him, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Karen K. Koch, 37, of Fairbanks, was charged with reckless endangerment and permitting an unauthorized person to drive, both misdemeanors.

A concerned neighbor at the Lakeview Terrace mobile home park called troopers Monday evening after seeing a young boy driving a silver Mazda Protege with a passed-out adult passenger. The neighbor told troopers the young driver came within feet of striking her own parked vehicle.

Troopers were able to trace the plates to Koch's nearby residence and arrived just as the boy was getting out of the driver's seat. Koch, who had leaned back in the front passenger's seat, woke up a few minutes later and identified the youngster as her son.

She told the trooper that she had let him drive the car from a nearby stop sign and did not see what the problem was, according to a criminal complaint filed in court.

Trooper Sgt. Brian Wassmann said that the child probably drove about a half-mile before reaching his destination. Troopers occasionally get reports of parents allowing teens to drive unlicensed, but it's rare to get a report of an elementary school student behind the wheel.

"It's against the law to allow someone who's not licensed to drive," Wassmann said. "It's also unsafe if they can't safely manipulate the controls."

Koch, who has three previous drunken driving convictions, failed a sobriety test and admitted drinking two shots of alcohol before she was arrested.

She was released from jail Wednesday after posting $250 bail, according to court records.

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