Father Arrested After Troopers Catch 8 Year-Old Driving on Interstate

Yesterday morning, shortly after 6:30, Louisiana State Police Troop A received a call from a concerned motorist traveling west on I-12 near Holden, LA.  The motorist advised that a green Chevrolet pick-up truck was driving erratically and also that a child appeared to be the driver.

Troopers immediately responded to the area and conducted a traffic stop on the pick-up with a Mississippi license plate on I-12, just west of LA 447 in Livingston Parish.  Troopers determined that the driver was an eight (8) year old with his four (4) year old sister in the rear seat and their father, 28 year old Billy Joe Madden of Hattiesburg, MS, in the passenger seat. Troopers determined Madden was intoxicated and was sleeping while his son drove the vehicle from Hattiesburg, MS enroute to Dallas, TX.

Both children were turned over to Child Protective Services and are awaiting the arrival of a family member.  There were no injuries to the children.  Madden was arrested and booked into the Livingston Parish Jail on two counts of Child Desertion, Parent Allowing a Minor to Drive, Open Container, two counts of No Child Restraint and No Seatbelt.  Madden’s bond is set at $1,474.00.