Woman pleads not guilty to allowing 11-year-old to drive

WARREN — An Elm Road woman pleaded not guilty today to five charges after police found her riding in a car while allowing a child, 11, to drive.

Brandy Cross, 19, is charged with child endangering, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, criminal damaging, criminal trespass and permitting operation without a license.

Bond of $1,500 was set in the Saturday night incident on Parkman Road Northwest.

A police officer made a traffic stop on the car after seeing it repeatedly flash its bright lights at the police cruiser at 7:41 p.m.

After the traffic stop, the officer saw Cross jump out of the back seat. The girl, who was not Cross’ daughter, was in the driver seat.

Cross said she wasn’t driving because she has no driver’s license and thought it was OK for the child to drive.

Cross said the car belonged to a guy she knew and wasn’t stolen, but police could not locate the female registered owner.

Cross was charged with criminal trespass because she admitted to violating an order to stay off of Trumbull Metropolitan Housing Authority property, police said.

Officers released the child to her mother but told the mother the child had been cited for driving without a license.