WSVN 7News55%
Family disgusted by driver asking to buy their kids, describing explicit acts at intersection in Pompano Beach 38%
By Nicole Linsalata56% Matthew Garcia45%
7/23/2026, 3:52:57 PM
Topics: Public Safety, Community Incidents
BS Summary: This article contains 19 faulty reasoning types, including Biased Writer Voice, Pessimism Bias, and Burden of Proof, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 23.8% saturation with 151 hits. Analysis detected 1,055 faulty-reasoning hits from 635 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 44.1% and a BS Rank of 38% (13,580 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 62.00% of the article peer group.
POMPANO BEACH, FLA.
(WSVN) - A family was left disgusted and disturbed after a fellow driver asked to purchase their children and directed sickening lewd comments at their young daughter while they were stopped at an intersection in Pompano Beach.
Karl Messner was driving his family to dinner on Saturday when they came to a stop at a red light along Sample Road and Federal Highway.
While they awaited the light, a man who appeared to be driving alone inside of a Tesla in the lane next to Messner began shouting for his attention, asking him to roll down his window.
“They kinda motioned and rolled their window down and started screaming,” said Karl.
“How much you got the child for?
How much you got the children going for?”
the man shouts from his car.
He was left stunned by what the man said.
“I’m like, ‘Did I just hear what I thought I heard,'” said Karl.
Messner said his 6-year-old daughter was sitting in the backseat with her grandmother and the driver of the Tesla seemed to believe there were other children in the vehicle.
The young girl’s mother was in the front passenger seat.
She instinctively began recording the encounter.
“Only because I was thinking, you know, I don’t know what he has going on but he seemed not with it,” said Bethany Messner, the girl’s mother.
As the agonizing wait for the light carried on, the Tesla driver’s comments somehow managed to take an even more sinister turn.
“How much you got the babies for?
Do they [expletive]?
Can I [expletive] them?
Do you [expletive} children?”
the man asked.
“Can I [expletive] or is it just like can I touch them?”
The man kept going, apparently expecting an answer before the light could turn green.
“I need to know how much they cost so I can make a decision,” the man said.
The depraved questions being thrown at them left everyone inside of Karl’s vehicle speechless and unsure of what to do.
“I’m thinking, ‘What?’
I was just so shocked, dumbfounded,” he said.
“I immediately stopped and said, ‘What?'”
said Sarah Foster, the young girl’s grandmother.
Above all else, each member was filled with pure disgust at the shameful comments made by the man.
“I was just completely disgusted.
It was like, I’ve never heard anybody talk like that about children before,” said Bethany.
The young girl heard it all as the man kept shouting his unhinged comments.
“What?
Why is he yelling?”
the girl can be heard asking her family inside of their car.
“And then after we pulled away, she felt comfortable to talk.
She said: ‘Did he say he wanted to purchase me?'”
said Karl.
The young girl told 7News the unwanted encounter with the Tesla driver terrified her.
Once the family could finally drive away from the man, they immediately dialed 911.
“We turned up the road, pulled over and called the police and sent them the video,” said Karl.
The family said they believe the recorded encounter raises some serious questions about the Tesla driver, claiming it’s not a matter of free speech, but major concerns that it could be a warning sign of potential crimes.
“This was so comfortable for him.
I can’t say that this guy has done this for real or if he’s just talking smack, but maybe he has, and if he has, maybe we’re the only shot at stopping the next one,” said Karl.
Karl’s family made it clear they had never encountered that Tesla driver before Sunday’s incident at the intersection.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office said they are investigating.
If you have any information on this incident, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
Speakers
4speakers32%attributed speech432writer words
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Selected voice
79%flagged-word coverageBethany Messner
53 attributed words26% of attributed speech62% writer coverage
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