A normal afternoon of decorating holiday lights turned into a nightmare this past Sunday in northwest San Antonio. Around 4 p.m., on the 4200 block of Gossan Springs, a 25‑year‑old woman, Ladeja Pickett, asked a young child—no older than nine and not her own—to move a vehicle out of the driveway while she arranged Christmas decorations.
According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, the child retrieved the car keys, apparently knowing where they were kept, got into the car and immediately lost control. Before the vehicle came to a halt, the child jumped out and it crashed into a neighbor’s pickup truck. The young driver suffered a forehead laceration and road rash on one of their legs.
Pickett was arrested Monday morning and booked into the adult detention center on charges of injury to a child causing bodily injury by reckless conduct and abandonment or endangerment of a child with imminent bodily injury. Bail was set at $25,000. Investigators confirmed she is not the child’s mother.
The child’s mother, speaking to a local news station, said that Pickett was a family friend. She claims she repeatedly told Pickett her daughter was not capable of driving—but Pickett allegedly said, “She’s going to learn.” Moments later, the child stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, jumped out mid‑drive, and the vehicle spin‑out ended in a crash with a neighbor’s truck.
The mother says her daughter has undergone three surgeries and is currently using a wheelchair. Despite the severity of her injuries, the family holds hope for her full recovery. “Pickett had no right to hand a minor the keys or to put the car in reverse,” the mother stated.
As the neighborhood deals with the shock of what should have been a joyful holiday moment, authorities remind residents that handing over a vehicle to someone unlicensed—even in a driveway—is a serious risk. The case continues to develop, and Pickett’s next court appearance has not yet been publicly scheduled.
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