9-year-old girl testifies about driving in suburban Detroit

WOODHAVEN, Mich. (AP) — A 9-year-old girl cried today as she explained how she drove a full-size van in suburban Detroit while her father sat in the passenger seat after a night of drinking whiskey.

The girl said her dad, Shawn Weimer, asked her if she wanted to drive in the wee hours of Oct. 8.

“I said yeah but I’d be a little scared,” she said.

Weimer, 39, was charged with child abuse after police in Brownstown Township stopped the van and found the girl behind the wheel. A judge will decide Nov. 15 whether he will stand trial.

The girl cried throughout her brief testimony. Judge Michael McNally tried to calm her and offered a soft drink before calling a recess.

Weimer sat at the defense table with his hands pressed together in front of his face.

His daughter testified that he drank half of a bottle of whiskey and threw the rest away earlier that night.

“Was your dad drunk?” assistant prosecutor Keisha Glenn asked.

“He told me he was,” the girl replied.