Washington mom, man accused of throwing 4-year-old off bridge cited for reckless endangerment

MONTESANO, Wash. -- The mother of a 4-year-old boy and a man accused of throwing him from a railroad bridge into the Wynoochee River west of Olympia have been cited for reckless endangerment.

KING-TV reports the state took the boy and another sibling into custody Wednesday.

The incident occurred Aug. 24 at a popular spot for swimmers. The boy’s mother, a 22-year-old from Aberdeen, retrieved the boy from the water. Medics determined he was not physically hurt.

Deputies found the man, a 35-year-old Aberdeen resident, nearby. He acknowledged he just met them at the river and said the child wanted to jump and he was just trying to help him off the bridge safely.

Deputies believe the man was under the influence of alcohol when questioned.

The man was also cited for criminal trespass for being on the trestle.

The Washington Post​ spoke to Kaylub Fawley, who saw the whole thing unfold from the riverbank and posted the video of it to his Facebook account. He said the boy’s mother “was trying to make it seem like the whole incident was fun.”

“This is what happens when some parents just don’t care...this is a woman me and all my friends witnessed letting a ‘stranger’ throw her 4 1/2 year old son of the bridge yesterday into the water for fun!!” Fawley wrote on Facebook.

“We all started freaking out and yelling at her, ‘You can’t do that!’” another witness, Brianna Jones, told the Post. “She said, ‘He’s my kid, and it’s none of your business.’”