(NewsNation) — Are parents to blame when their children commit crimes?
The mother of a teenager killed in a high-speed crash last Thanksgiving is calling for criminal charges against the driver’s parent, claiming she knew about her son’s dangerous driving habits but failed to intervene.
Panelists on “Dan Abrams Live” compared the case to that of the Oxford High School shooter’s parents, who were convicted of involuntary manslaughter for failing to prevent their son’s actions.
Former Parkland Judge Elizabeth Scherer said she favors the trend of parents being held responsible when their children commit crimes.
“I believe it’s rightly so,” Scherer said. “You are raising a child, that is your responsibility. You know the child is doing something that is so dangerous that could in all likelihood cause harm. … And you continue to give that child a mechanism, in this case a vehicle. We all know a vehicle can be considered a deadly weapon. … In my opinion, what she did rose to the level of negligence that certainly, she could be charged.”
Anne Vanker, whose 18-year-old son Flynn MacKrell died when his friend Kiernan Tague crashed at 105 mph in a 25 mph zone, said that the incident “wasn’t an accident” and “could have been prevented 100%.”
“Every day, I wake up basically shocked in disbelief that my son is gone,” Vanker said earlier this week on “Dan Abrams Live.” She is urging Wayne County prosecutors to charge Elizabeth Tague, Kiernan’s mother, arguing she was aware of her son’s reckless driving through a phone app that monitored his speed.
Criminal defense attorney Jacqueline Goodman said that Elizabeth Tague’s actions don’t equate to giving her child a handgun.
She also says that unlike the Ethan Crumbley case, where the parents gave a gun to a child with known mental health issues, it’s harder to argue that giving car keys will lead to a fatality.
“A gun doesn’t have any other use other than to kill somebody, one would argue,” Goodman said. “Anybody who has teenagers knows it’s a difficult job, especially with behavior problems. You can see she’s doing the best she can to some degree.”