Dad saves boy before car plunges down cliff -- and gets pair of traffic tickets

[Krdshrk 3,878]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/21/saves-his-kid-loses-his-car-and-gets-ticket/

http://nj1015.com/nj-dad-saves-boy-from-car-falling-off-cliff-receives-traffic-tickets-audio/

 

A New Jersey dad got the scare of his life when his 5-year-old son almost ran off a steep embankment, and though the man saved the boy from falling, he couldn't stop his Jeep from going over the precipice and into a river below.

 

The reward for his ordeal? Two traffic tickets from local police

 

Frank Roder, a construction worker from the town of Winfield Park, had taken his son, Aidan, down to the Rahway River to feed ducks Thursday. But when he stopped briefly before settling on a parking space, the impatient boy jumped out and took off -- straight toward a ledge 35 feet above the river, Roder recalled.

 

"He hopped out, and I thought that was OK, I was just going to park," Roder, 38, said, but "he just took off, made a beeline for the edge."

 

The panic-stricken father jumped out of the cab of his 2006 Jeep Commander and raced after the errant boy, catching him just feet from the edge.

 

That's when Aidan, eyes as big as saucers, looked behind Roder and said, "Um, Daddy ..."

 

Roder turned in time to see the Jeep nosedive down the embankment and land in the muddy water.

 

Roder hugged the boy and waited as Union County police converged on the scene over the next few hours. A crane pulled the Jeep out, and amazingly, it started right up, though Roder is pretty sure his insurance company will count it as totaled.

He was counting his blessings when a young cop approached him and handed him two tickets. One was for failure to produce the insurance card, which was somewhere in the waterlogged cab. The other was for failing to use his emergency brake.

 

"I couldn't believe it," Roder said. "He said, 'If you would have taken the five seconds to apply the brake, this never would have happened!'

 

"I say, 'Really? And if I did and my boy stepped over the edge and fell instead of the Jeep, then were would I be?' He says, 'Jail, for child endangerment.'"

 

Too awful to contemplate is the fact the Roder almost took his six-week-old son Joel along for the ride.

 

"At the last minute, I told my wife to take him," Roder said. "I can't even think about that."

 

Union County Police Chief Daniel Vaniska told FoxNews.com that his officers have some discretion about when and when not to write a ticket. But he said he just didn't have enough information to second-guess what this officer did.

 

"It probably could have gone either way," Vaniska said. "I can't comment on the discretionary practices of an officer, but certainly, the fellow will have an opportunity to tell his story in court."

 

Municipal Court is where Roder might get some sympathy -- and maybe forbearance on those tickets, which are for $50 and $60. His date is May 30.

 

"I don't care, I'll pay it," Roder said. "It's just the principle. When something like that happens so fast, I could give a rat's a-- about the car."

[BlueLineFish 615]

Wow...I definitely do not agree with writing summonses there. That is why we have discretion.

[BigAl 10]

That is why we have discretion.

 

The ones that can think for themselves, but you do have some of those that are out to prove something to someone.

[Smokin .50 1,907]

Wow...I definitely do not agree with writing summonses there. That is why we have discretion.

 

Even the CLEO "almost" hung the Cop out to dry over this one. He's even quoted in the article. The fact that he even made a statement speaks volumes to me Joe! The Prosecutor will have the Court Clerk dismiss the tickets so that the mob of cameras covering this story has nothing to record......and hopefully this Turd with a badge will get some desk duty for a couple weeks.

 

No offense to all of the GOOD LEOS out there, but Turds like this is what gives the profession a bad rap!

 

Dave

[BlueLineFish 615]

Every job has " those guys." the law enforcement profession is no exception.

[joshroz2 4]

I have a feeling that story is not totally true and he simply forgot to put the car in park or something.

 

Either way the dad is responsible for the car and the kid and needs to be in control of both.

[BlueLineFish 615]

I have a feeling that story is not totally true and he simply forgot to put the car in park or something.

 

Either way the dad is responsible for the car and the kid and needs to be in control of both.

 

If my kid darts towards a cliff who cares about the car. If I happened to forget about the brake or to put it in park so what. As long as my kid is ok. In a situation like that forgetting about the car is understandable.

[NJdiverTony 27]

I have a feeling that story is not totally true and he simply forgot to put the car in park or something.

 

Either way the dad is responsible for the car and the kid and needs to be in control of both.

 

When your 5 yr old dashes out of the car and runs towards a cliff, the last thing in your mind is "Hmmm, let me take a few seconds here and put the car in park". Kids at that age are very unpredictable, and soemtimes too young to understand the repercussions of their actions (I have a 4 and 5 yr old and speaking from my own experience).. so being in control of the car and the kid running towards a cliff at the same time can be kind of tough.

 

A valid question is why didn't he have child locks engaged on the rear doors of the vehicle (so the kid couldn't open the doors on his own from the inside) and how come the kid wasn't restrained in his car seat?

[joshroz2 4]

If my kid darts towards a cliff who cares about the car. If I happened to forget about the brake or to put it in park so what. As long as my kid is ok. In a situation like that forgetting about the car is understandable.

 

Yeah I'm saying I don't believe that story just because he claims it doesn't mean it happened.

[NJdiverTony 27]

If my kid darts towards a cliff who cares about the car. If I happened to forget about the brake or to put it in park so what. As long as my kid is ok. In a situation like that forgetting about the car is understandable.

 

+1,000,000

[Sandy 44]

I can only comment on this from a mother's perspective. If I found out my husband let our 5 year old out of the car while the car was still running or any time before it was completely in park and OFF ..let's just say the parking tickets would have been the least of his problems.

 

Thank goodness he did not have the infant with him as well.

 

+100 to the Jeep for still starting after the fact

[heaterbob 53]

he should get a ticket for feeding the ducks too

[BlueLineFish 615]

Now that I have a kid I realize that sometimes they do things you don't expect and you have to react. Im sure he didn't think the kid would jump out and run towards the cliff

[BlueLineFish 615]

Maybe he should get fine by the EPA for polluting the river

[Sandy 44]

Now that I have a kid I realize that sometimes they do things you don't expect and you have to react. Im sure he didn't think the kid would jump out and run towards the cliff

 

And the mother of the child will never let you hear the end of it. The end. Like I said , I can only comment as a Mother If my 5 year old jumped out of the car before I was parked ( she would not out of fear for the scolding..from me , not from an accident) I would throw the car in park immediately , grab her , and make her not ever want to jump out of the vehicle before I say so again. The dad ( and dad's are just biologically more casual about these things than moms are) said he figured he would just finish parking , then saw the boy taking off ..I would have stopped her well before she got out , as she was unbuckling . In fact , she can't get out before I let her , because she is in a 5 point harness. 5 years old is kind of young to be hopping out of a car on their own. Even a modern booster seat is a lot of hoo-ha-ing to undo.

 

In fact , as a side note , anyone with tots in car seats should have one of those emergency seat belt cutting kits. Car seat buckles are quite difficult to operate ..so that kids can't undo them themselves.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

I have a feeling that story is not totally true and he simply forgot to put the car in park or something.

 

Either way the dad is responsible for the car and the kid and needs to be in control of both.

 

JR, you have any kids??

 

Did you listen to the audio?? The guy did say he was driving his wifes vehicle and the shifter is in a different location, and when he went to get out of the vehicle to go after his kid he did what he thought was put it in park but from the sounds of it either ripped ot or just about ripped off the windshield wiper control.

 

Regardless, Id give the guy the benefit of the doubt no matter what, it's bad enough he got a lot of damage to the vehicle. However the most important thing is, he save his child from possibly getting very hurt.

 

That and he and his boy will have a story to tell for life..

[hd2000fxdl 422]

I can only comment on this from a mother's perspective. If I found out my husband let our 5 year old out of the car while the car was still running or any time before it was completely in park and OFF ..let's just say the parking tickets would have been the least of his problems.

 

Thank goodness he did not have the infant with him as well.

 

+100 to the Jeep for still starting after the fact

 

Pete are you reading this???

[bulpup 98]

I'd like to think that if the dad knew he f'ed up he would just eat the $110 for tickets and not try to blow it up

With some weird cover story.

 

In other words it seems dumb enough to be true.

 

A ticket for not producing an insurance card when it was in the vehicle is absurd.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sandy 44]

Pete are you reading this???

 

Ask him about ceiling fans next time we meet up.

[Sandy 44]

[Smokin .50 1,907]

Sandy,

 

I remember my Dad tying a string around one of my teeth and the other end to a door knob, then close the door hard and out pops the tooth! No rocket but the same idea, and I'm still here to talk about it!

 

Thanks for the memory!

 

Dave

[Sandy 44]

My grandpa did the same exact thing lol The door was key.

 

He also use to give me castor oil no matter what the illness was. Ugh.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

 

 

Ask him about ceiling fans next time we meet up.

 

Sandy, ill try to remember but if I forget remind me please, sound like it should be a good story.

[Smokin .50 1,907]

Harry,

 

She always has good stories too!

[raz-0 1,259]

He also use to give me castor oil no matter what the illness was. Ugh.

 

Bet it made you stop complaining about not feeling well.

[Sandy 44]

Bet it made you stop complaining about not feeling well.

 

I did not fake being sick much lol