This story broke my heart because I taught my son to drive in empty parking lots long before he was old enough to be street-legal.  I have friends who live on a farm and taught their children to drive in the pasture at an early age.  I can empathize with having a playful moment when a child asks if they can drive the car and deciding to let them try, but you need to be in a completely open and vacant area before you let anyone take their first turn behind the wheel.  I used to teach teen-agers to drive at a children’s home where I worked.  More often than not, sometime during the first lesson, they either hit the wrong pedal or put the car in the wrong gear.
It’s a mistake you have to assume will be made when you’re teaching kids to drive, because it almost always is.  I don’t know whether or not charges will be filed against the little girl’s mother, but I don’t think we can ever possibly punish her more than she’s already been punished for a well-intended lapse in judgement.  My prayers are with her.