Parents charged for allegedly violating Ohio health order by renting party bus for 60 kids

Ohio police this week charged parents this week for allegedly violating the state’s coronavirus health order by renting a bus for their child’s 14th birthday that brought about 60 minors from Cincinnati to Mount Healthy, Ohio.  

The Mount Healthy Police Department said that a bus dropped off the mask-less minors, who were also not socially distancing, at the Hilltop Shopping Center on Saturday at 9:50 p.m. None of the minors were from Mount Healthy.

Shortly after, several fights broke out that “necessitated calls for assistance from other police agencies,” the department said in a Facebook statement. One minor allegedly attempted to hit a police officer, resulting in the child’s arrest. 

Police said the bus driver ignored officers’ directions to get the group back on the bus and fled the scene, “leaving the crowd of approximately 60 juveniles in a very agitated state for officers to deal with.”

Officers then attempted to break up “numerous fights,” keep the minors distanced and instruct them to contact their parents for transportation. 

Police said they found that parents had rented the bus for the birthday party and posted the event on social media as an open invite. The group was dropped off at the Hilltop Shopping Center without approval from the center’s owner.

The department statement said the parents responsible will be charged for violating the governor’s order. Police said they were consulting the prosecutor’s office to determine if there will be other charges for the parents or others involved in the incident.

“Parents – it is your responsibility to manage your children,” the police said in their statement. “Mount Healthy Police will not tolerate blatant law violations especially when such action endangers our community, our officers, and public health.”