A 26-year-old mother from Volusia County has been arrested after police said her 7-year-old son turned her in for cooking and using methamphetamine.

According to Edgewater police, the boy told his uncle — as well as investigators — that "There's really bad stuff in my mom's car."



Briana Buchanan and her son had been living with her boyfriend's brother, Peter — who considers the 7-year-old his nephew — for some time at his Edgewater home.

For several days, the boy had told Peter that his mom was cooking "something bad."

Then, on Friday, Peter said the boy built up enough courage to show him just how bad it was.



"He came up to me, and he said, 'There's really bad stuff in mom's car that I want to show you,'" said Peter, who asked that his last name not be published.



The 7-year-old brought his uncle to his mother's car and opened up the trunk, himself. Inside was drug paraphernalia, sitting right next to some of the boy's toys.

Shocked, Peter closed the trunk, took the boy inside and called 911.



"Her son, who's 7, just told me she keeps bad stuff in her car, and he opened up the trunk, and she has a meth lab in her trunk," Peter told a 911 dispatcher.



The 911 operator told Peter to get away from the car, because of the volatility of materials used to cook meth.

When police arrived, they found dozens of items inside the trunk used to cook and use meth.

What's worse, the boy also described to Peter just how his mom allegedly manufactured meth.

"He said when they would get all this stuff together, they would put it all in a soda bottle, and they would shake the soda bottle and take the top off to, I guess, vent it out," Peter said.



Police charged Buchanan with child neglect, possession of chemicals, meth and paraphernalia, and manufacturing and delivery of meth.

After Buchanan's arrest, her son was taken in by his grandmother, away from a world Peter says no boy his age should have to see.

"I can already tell you, just looking at his face, he is relieved to be out of the situation," Peter said.



The boy's grandmother planned to enroll him in school this week.



Edgewater police said they were investigating to see if Briana Buchanan could be charged with trafficking meth, which has a harsher punishment.