Boy Jumps into Occoquan River, Dies

A local kid and illegal immigrant, was out joyriding, drunk, without a license. When he was arrested by the cops, the State Trooper put the boy, Rodger Rodriguez, into the front seat with his hands cuffed behind his back. The boy managed to get the door open and he dove over a barrier on Interstate 95. 60 feet below was the frigid Occoquan river.

Now his parents are upset, and the way this story is worded, it is implied that the mother thinks the cops may have thrown the boy into the river and murdered him out of racist hate. The real question should be why Mrs. Rodriguez, who is in this country illegally, is such a clueless parent that she let her boy go out drinking and driving without a license after 3 in the morning?

From NBC4:

Authorities said a Woodbridge boy has drowned after escaping from a police cruiser parked on a bridge. Police said the boy leaped over a concrete barrier and into the Occoquan River early Saturday morning.

Rodriguez was pulled over about 3:20 a.m. for speeding and was arrested for drunken driving and driving without a license.

Virginia State Police Sergeant Terry Licklider said it’s unclear why 16-year-old Rodger Rodriguez jumped off Interstate 95 and into the river about 60 feet below.

At the time he escaped, Rodriguez was sitting in the front passenger seat of the cruiser with his hands handcuffed behind his back

The boy’s mother, Gloria Elena Rodriguez, told The Washington Post her son was familiar with the area along the highway. Gloria Rodriguez said her son would never have intentially jumped into the water. She said she doesn’t know what she will do now without her only son. The teenager’s mother and stepfather are asking authorities to investigate exactly what happened.

The loss is truly tragic for the surviving family members. But it is wrong to imply that the police had intentionally hurt this boy. Those troopers probably prevented this inexperienced drunk driver from hurting or killing other people that night.

There is a longer writeup at WaPo here. After such a long streak of bad luck, next up should be deportation.