A Florida man jumped from his moving vehicle Monday when he realized his daughter had called 911 because he was fighting with her mother.
The child told dispatchers the family was traveling on Highway 79 in Washington County and gave them a description of the vehicle before the call was disconnected, WTVT reported. The girl said her parents were physically fighting as they were traveling down the road.
A deputy spotted a vehicle matching the description and activated lights and sirens, only to see the vehicle continue for until the driver opened the door and jumped from the moving vehicle.
Heather Searcy was in the passenger seat and climbed over the console to take control of the vehicle and stop it. In addition to the girl who called 911, two other children were in the vehicle at the time.
Deputies quickly took Albert Searcy into custody, charging him with tampering with or harassing a witness, domestic violence battery, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest without violence, child abuse, false imprisonment, and driving while license suspended or revoked.
Investigators say that Heather Searcy had apparent injuries to her face and other signs of a physical altercation. She told detectives that when her husband realized the daughter had called 911, he hit her and took the phone away.
She also said she repeatedly asked him to stop the car and let her and the children out, but he refused.
Albert Searcy told investigators that they family had recently come to Florida from Louisiana and were on their way back there when the incident took place.
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[Featured image: Albert Searcy/Washington County Sheriff’s Office]
