Car hits five people after granny made grandson sit on her lap for ‘driving lesson’

Five pedestrians were struck by an out-of-control car after a drunk grandmother made her 13 year-old son sit on her lap for a driving lesson. Joseph Hollomon says he tried desperately to brake as his 58 year-old granny Ernestine Hollomon’s car careered down a street in Memphis, Tennessee, on Tuesday.

Ernestine has now been charged with crimes including DUI child endangerment and public intoxication over the incident, and was held in jail ahead of her first court appearance Thursday morning. Her shaken grandson told WREG: ‘I didn’t want to, but I ain’t had no choice, so she told me to sit in her lap, and I did.

‘I ain’t know what to do. I pushed the brake, but she pushed the gas pedal and went straight ahead and started crashing into those folks.

‘I looked to see if someone was hurt. I seen like three or four, five people on the ground.’

Recalling the aftermath of the collisions, Joseph continued: ‘When I got out, folks started hollering at me, talking about “What you do? What you do?” One of the five people struck suffered a broken leg, with none of the victims receiving life-threatening injuries.

Joseph says his grandmother’s impromptu driving lesson has put him off ever getting behind the wheel again, saying: ‘I ain’t want to drive no more.’

Eyewitness Taradious Allmond narrowly avoided being struck by the out-of-control car, and recalled afterwards: ‘Just rrrmmph. You know, she just, like, ran them folks totally over, like, didn’t stop, didn’t try to stop.’

Joseph’s mom Jennifer Hollomon says she has no idea why Ernestine insisted on the driving lesson. The rogue grandmother’s driving license has been suspended for the last five years for an unspecified offense.

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