Intoxicated man accused of recruiting 9-year-old driver to get barbecue sauce for chicken dinner

Police say an intoxicated man, Cory D. Mathias, 27, recruited his 9-year-old neighbour to drive him to buy barbecue sauce for a chicken dinner on Saturday night.

Employees at the Pit Stop, in Tiffin, Ohio, objected to the underage chauffeur and wouldn’t let the boy drive back home, police said. So Mathias took the wheel, but police pulled him over.



Police said Mathias had been imbibing before he went on the barbecue sauce expedition: His blood alcohol content was .300, nearly four times the legal limit. Mathias is facing seven charges, including two counts of child endangering, police said.

He’s also charged with driving while intoxicated, refusing a breath test, driving under suspension, wrongful entrustment of a motor vehicle, and obstructing official business, police said. Police said Mathias was having the child over for a chicken dinner when he realised he didn’t have barbecue sauce and decided to go and get some. The child’s parents, who are neighbours of Mathias, did not know he was drunk, police said.