Dad arrested for doing donuts with teen in car

By: The VNN Team  //  Legal, News Briefs

by Carol Thompson

Ontario, NY-  For many teenagers growing up in areas where snow is a common occurrence it’s almost a driving passage of rite to be taken to a parking lot to do donuts to learn how maneuver a vehicle if it slides. But for one western New York man doing donuts in a parking lot with his teenage son landed him with criminal charges.

Joe Graham 46, of Ontario, NY was charged with a felony for his two Columbus Day donuts. He took his 1968 Camaro into the empty town parking lot and did the two loops before the police arrived.

“I saw a big empty parking lot there-we’re on our way home, you know…” Graham told 13WHAM. “It isn’t easy getting a 14-year old off the computer.”

Ontario’s Town Supervisor, John Smith said he was headed into a meeting when he heard the car spinning in circles. “We looked out and here’s this really nice classic Camaro doing these terrific donuts,” Smith said, “the only problem of course is we had just paid to have these all striped up and ready for the winter,” 13WHAM reported.

Smith said the driver did two donuts in about 15 seconds, and then it was over—but days later, the yellow paint in the lot it still scuffed with tire tracks.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office substation is in the building next to the town hall.

When the police arrived Graham said he got out of his car and apologized to no avail. He offered to pay for the damage to the yellow parking lines but was handcuffed instead and his car impounded.

Graham faces a felony charge for the tire tracks because the cost to repaint the yellow lines exceeds $250. Graham admitted he made a mistake and offered to cover the cost.

He reportedly was charged with endangering the welfare of a child as well.

“Endangering the life of a child?” Graham said. “For someone to accuse me of doing that to my son that probably hurts more than anything.”

Graham is due in court next month to answer the charges.

Image: Flickr/navilahmad