She didn’t want to risk being contaminated herself. Sarah Beam, an American living in Texas, is facing criminal charges for locking her 13-year-old son, infected with Covid, in the trunk of his car. This 41-year-old woman went on Monday, January 3, to Pridgeon Stadium in Houston, a drive-in screening site, where you can get tested without getting out of your vehicle. On the spot, she explained to come for her child, positive during a previous test. The mother then told one of the officials that she had preferred to put it in the back to reduce the risk of contamination.
Taken aback, the site employee asked to see the teenager. She then told him that no tests would be carried out until he was in the back seat of the vehicle. The police, warned of this abnormal situation and using video surveillance cameras, found and arrested, Saturday, January 8, this teacher for presumption of endangering a child. She was not released until the next day on bail of 1,500 dollars (about 1,320 euros).
Back home, Sarah Beam has since received testimonials of support. On Monday, January 10, some of her former students placed words around her house in defense of her. She is “a real heroine without a cape” writes one of them, “an incredible teacher, a loving mother, an inspiring woman”. Cardboard signs hung in its windows also read: “We support you” and “You don’t judge a book by its cover”. The teacher, who works at a Houston high school, was placed “on administrative leave”. The judicial authorities did not specify when she will be heard.