A North Dakota woman is facing criminal charges after authorities say she drove toward a group of boys at roughly 60 mph, furious over a prank the children had pulled on her son.
Ashley Jerome has been charged in Nelson County District Court with four counts of reckless endangerment involving extreme indifference, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime. She was booked into the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center and has since been released.
The Nelson County Sheriff’s Office received a call Saturday reporting that a woman was driving at children in Aneta, a small city in the eastern part of the state. Deputies opened an investigation shortly after.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by local NBC affiliate KVLY and CBS affiliate KXJB, both of which report under the Valley News Live banner, a witness explained that neighborhood kids had taken a boy’s bicycle, hidden it, and then handed it back as a joke. Jerome is the mother of the boy whose bike was targeted, and the witness said she seemed extremely upset when she arrived on scene.
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Investigators say Jerome drove toward the other children at close to 60 mph while yelling at them, frightening one child so badly that he ran off crying. Another witness told authorities he watched her vehicle come speeding down the road with its high beams on, swerving before braking just a few feet from the group.
That same witness said he stepped in front of the children to shield them, prompting Jerome to swerve around him. He then reportedly grabbed her passenger-side window, hoping to find out what was happening, but she told him she didn’t want to talk and drove away, the court filing states. Deputies say Jerome continued circling the neighborhood for another 15 to 20 minutes, and a separate witness said he believed her car was headed straight for him at one point.
When deputies eventually located Jerome, she reportedly explained that she had been at work when her son came to her saying another child had taken his bike and threatened to hurt him. She told investigators she then drove around searching for the other kids and felt she was being kept from talking to them, though she pushed back on claims that she was driving anywhere near 60 mph.
Deputies noted that Jerome appeared remorseful, telling them her actions stemmed from anger over her son being bullied.
She is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 13.
