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Local NewsKids Illegally Sell Water in Road MediansBy Tom Murray
MILWAUKEE - Fourteen-year-old Angel Brown said she can earn more than $100 a day selling bottled water for a buck.
"It gets money for school clothes and shoes," Angel said. "Most kids are out here selling drugs. This keeps us off the street."
True, the kids are not selling drugs, but this hardly keeps them off the street. Angel and her friend run their dangerous drive-thru on a narrow median at Atkinson and Capitol.
"One day, I was walking across the street, and I almost got hit," Angel remembered.
Bennie Morris lives near the intersection where the girls sold cold drinks Monday.
"I think it's dangerous for those kids just to be out there," she told TODAY'S TMJ4 reporter Tom Murray. "I never see any adult supervision around."
It's illegal to sell anything or even ask for donations in the median of Milwaukee streets. Police could warn or even ticket violators. Deputy Chief Dale Schunk said drivers should not buy water from children selling from the median or curbside. He said the kids are a traffic hazard.
Sherice Parker peddled water on North Ave. with her niece and nephew near the I-43 on-ramp. She said she's not putting the kids in harm's way. But Children's Hospital safety expert Bridget Clementi disagrees.
"It's hard for me to comment on the earning potential these kids have," said Clementi. "What we're really concerned about is drivers are not expecting these kids to be out in the road."
People who spoke with TODAY'S TMJ4 said they earned money for themselves. But, police say they fined a man for running a ring of water-bottle-selling kids last summer.
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