Lexus Stagg, a 26-year-old from Houston, was arrested on Thursday after hitting and killing her three-year-old child with her SUV in what she says was a game of "chicken". Her son died on June 11 after being taken to a local hospital by an ambulance.
Surveillance video shows Stagg reversing her 2006 white Lincoln Navigator in an apartment complex parking lot as three of her kids run at the car. When they get close to the vehicle, the car starts moving forward and traps the three-year-old underneath it.
A post on NBC News's website reads:
"Authorities said Stagg continued to drive forward and ran the boy over again with the right rear tire of the SUV, which weighs approximately 5,600 pounds."
Stagg told authorities that she believed she had hit a speed bump when driving in reverse. However, the video shows her hitting her young son with the front of her car, trapping him under the front right tire. When she continues driving forward, Stagg again runs over the boy with the back right tire.
Stagg is charged with criminally negligent homicide. Her bail is $50,000 and she will face up to 10 years in prison if she's convicted.
A statement made last Friday by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg reads:
“Every parent has an obligation to protect their children, even from themselves,” said Ogg said. “Car’s aren’t toys and playing chicken with your kids isn’t a game.”
Sean Teare, chief of the Vehicular Crimes Division, continues later in the statement:
“You should be playing Peek-A-Boo with a three-year-old instead of forcing him to try and dodge a 5,600 pound deadly weapon.”
A tweet from the Harris County DA reads:
Their tweet thread continues:
“During her victim impact statement, she said there would be no more birthdays, no more Christmases, no more New Year’s Eves to celebrate. But because of the conviction and life sentence they would finally be able to begin the impossible task of healing from their son’s murder.”