BRUIN — A borough man is accused of letting his girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter to drive his pickup truck while sitting on his lap.

Keith W. Gordon’s poor judgment last week didn’t get any better as he neared his house on Main Street, state police said. When he placed the unrestrained toddler on the passenger side floor of the still-moving truck, she grabbed the handle and opened the door, tumbling out and breaking her left arm.

Police on Monday charged Gordon, 24, with misdemeanor counts of child endangerment and reckless endangerment. He also was cited for disorderly conduct and not having the girl in a child safety seat.

Police said the charges stem from an investigation that began Thursday when the girl suffered the broken arm and a cut on the head.

While speaking to troopers at his home, according to court documents, Gordon admitted that he “frequently allows his girlfriend’s child (to) sit on his lap and drive from the post office in Bruin to their house.”

That trip, online maps show, is about one-half mile.

On Thursday, police say, he admitted that he had placed the child on the passenger floor and took over sole possession of the steering wheel to turn into his driveway.

That is when, he recounted, the toddler pulled the passenger side door handle, which caused her to fall out of the truck onto the road.

During the interview, troopers noted in their criminal complaint, the defendant repeatedly asked of himself: “Why was I so stupid to allow this to happened?”

A police affidavit noted that Gordon had a car seat in the truck but he chose not to use it.

A telephone call to Gordon was not returned this morning.