Boy says mother 'ran him over' and left him on side of road before she falsely reported kidnapping: Police

A woman has been arrested after falsely reporting a kidnapping, leaving her son unattended along a major roadway and allowing him to run off in the night following a tantrum, police said.

The incident began on Nov. 5 when authorities from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana responded to a report of a child who had allegedly been kidnapped at approximately 1 a.m. near the area of U.S. 190 and Industrial Road in Eunice, Louisiana, according to a statement from St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“The mother, Artasia Quantaya Viges, reported that individuals in an older model truck had kidnapped her son as she was parked on the roadway attending to a deflated tire,” authorities said.

However, almost immediately after police arrived on scene, deputies learned that the boy was found by citizens in the area who discovered him unattended in the parking lot of Heinen Medical Clinic with abrasion injuries to his knees, police said.

“The child stated to officers that his mother ‘ran him over’ and left him on the side of the road,” authorities said. The child was transported to the nearby hospital for treatment. With this vast disparity in statements, the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Detectives were called in to investigate.”

“A subsequent interview with Artasia Viges revealed the awful truth; there was no kidnapping and a young child was left unattended along a major roadway and allowed to run off in the night,” police said. What started as a disagreement between a mother and a child became a bizarre reaction to the child having a tantrum.”

Police said that when Viges pulled the car over, the child -- “obviously not properly restrained” -- bailed out of the car before it came to a stop, which resulted in injuries to the child’s knees.

“The mother chose to leave the child out of the car, allowing him to run off in the dark, along major roadways,” police continued. “The mother admitted to detectives that she did not attempt to go after him and ultimately lost sight of him.

Viges was subsequently arrested and the investigation into the incident is currently ongoing.