Alaska mom sentenced for letting son, 7, drive

[August 07, 2009]  FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) -- An Alaska woman who let her 7-year-old son drive while she was passed out drunk in the passenger seat has been sentenced to 20 days in jail. District Court Judge Raymond Funk also sentenced 37-year-old Karen Koch to three years on probation and six months of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports Koch pleaded guilty to one count of reckless endangerment in exchange for prosecutors dropping a charge of allowing an unauthorized person to drive. She has three previous convictions for drunken driving and did not speak at Wednesday's court hearing.

A neighbor called troopers in May after seeing a young boy driving a car with a passenger passed out.

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Information from: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com/

[Associated Press]

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