A Corona woman and her firefighter fiancé are in trouble with the law because of a video posted on YouTube.
The woman's 8-year-old son and a friend are seen riding in the back of a truck bed filled with small gel balls. Those orbeez balls, which grow in size when wet and are typically used in spas, were then dumped on a busy city street.
The mother, Holly Piazza, was behind the wheel and her fiancé, Brian Chase, was in the passenger's seat. Piazza can be heard in a portion of the video admitting she knew the activity was illegal.
At times it appeared her son got dangerously close to the edge of the truck as it turned corners. When she posted the video on YouTube, some parents had a strong reaction.
"I feel it is very dangerous and very irresponsible of the parents to allow this to happen," said Corona resident Melissa Samboy.
Investigators said it's not just illegal to dump the gel balls on a road: it's also dangerous. Other drivers, especially motorcyle riders, were at risk of crashing.
Officer John Samano said, "Now there's a slippery substance, he hits the brakes in a panic ... That motorcyclist is going fall, slip and get injured."
News
Top news of the day
Piazza and Chase were cited for misdemeanor child endangerment.
Although Chase, a Riverside County firefighter, was not driving, he was still cited because he was in the truck at the time of the incident.
Piazza is also facing a citation for illegal dumping. She said she couldn't be more sorry about what happened.
"I even thanked the officers," she said.
