Mother accused of abandoning child on highway and falsely reporting kidnapping

EUNICE, La. – A Louisiana mother has been accused of falsely reporting her child's kidnapping when she said she actually ran him over and left him on a highway, authorities said.

The St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office said on Nov. 5 that officers responded to a call that a child had been abducted in the area of ​​US 190 and Industrial Road in Eunice.

The mother, Artasia Quantaya Viges, told authorities that a group of people in an old model truck picked up her son while he was parked on the street because of a flat tire.

When officers arrived, they were quickly informed that an unattended child with injuries to his knees had been found in a nearby Heinen Medical Clinic parking lot.

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The child told officers that “his mother 'run him over' and left him on the side of the road.”

The child was treated at a nearby hospital.

Authorities said the mother later confessed to falsely reporting the kidnapping.

Investigators believe the mother had a “bizarre reaction” to the child’s tantrum. They said when the mother stopped the car, the unbelted child was able to get out of the car before it came to a stop, resulting in injuries to the child's knees.

According to authorities, the mother then decided to abandon the child and let him run away in the dark. Authorities said the mother admitted she did not try to pursue the child and eventually lost track of him.