At 7:30 pm on Sunday, February 9th, first responders with the Los Angeles County Fire Department were notified about a crash that occurred on Sand Canyon Road. After arriving at the scene and administering first aid, three people were taken to the hospital-the driver of the vehicle that caused the collision, her daughter, and the driver of the other vehicle.
It was determined that the driver of the vehicle who caused the collision, C. Mercado, of Santa Clarita, was under the influence at the time. She was charged with a DUI and felony child endangerment and transported to the Santa Clarita Sheriff Station where she underwent booking and processing. Afterward, she was held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Child endangerment is covered under California Penal Code 273a PC and is described as willfully exposing a child under 18 to unjustifiable pain, suffering, or danger. Sometimes, the terms “child endangerment” and “child abuse” are used interchangeably, but they’re actually two different laws.
“Child abuse” is covered under California Penal Code 273d PC and is described as physically injuring or imposing cruel punishment on a child. Some examples include slapping a child hard enough to leave a mark, or hitting a child with a belt (or something else) harder than is reasonable in order to discipline them.
The difference between the two can be described as follows: child endangerment is the crime of putting a child in a situation in which there’s a good chance they could get hurt, and child abuse is actually inflicting the injury on your child yourself.
Child endangerment, the crime that the suspect was charged with, can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the circumstances of the case involved and the defendant’s prior criminal history. Whether the suspect had a history of child endangerment is unknown, however, the fact that the crash occurred while the suspect was drunk was likely more than enough to charge her with a felony-level crime.
When charged as a felony, the potential penalties include two, four, or six years in California state prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000. In some cases, the defendant will be sentenced to four years of felony probation in lieu of jail time.
