A Bloomington man is facing felony charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and child endangerment after police allege he forced his 11-year-old son to drive him home.
Jarvis Canada, 34, was arrested Tuesday after the Bloomington Police Department responded to a property damage call around 3 p.m. near West Third Street. Officers found Canada and his child in an SUV, which was in a ditch off the road.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the child said he was sick and needed to be picked up from school. He told police that not long after being picked up, Canada pulled over and asked him to drive. The child refused four times before being forced to drive, the statement reads.
The child said he got confused with the gas and brake pedals and overcorrected his steering, which is what caused the car to drive off the road.
Canada said he let his son drive, but denied it was due to being under the influence of alcohol.
The police statement says Canada smelled like alcohol and had slurred speech and failed all three field sobriety tests.
Canada said he had three shots of whiskey and two glasses of wine around midnight.
The Department of Child Services was notified of the situation, according to the BPD.
Court documents show Canada was charged with OWI another time within the last seven years.
Canada-PC by Indiana Public Media News on Scribd
