Missing baby was unrestrained in U-Haul speeding from police, Tennessee cops say
A missing 2-month-old was riding unrestrained in a U-Haul van as its driver led police on a high-speed chase in Tennessee, officials said.
The baby had disappeared from the Nashville area on Tuesday, Aug. 30, prompting the state to issue an Endangered Child Alert. At the time, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation believed the boy was with his dad, who reportedly didn’t have custody of him.
The same night that crews searched for the child, officers started to pursue the U-Haul, according to the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said they took over the chase from the nearby Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
“The fleeing vehicle raced eastbound on I-40 at a high rate of speed in an attempt to evade police,” the sheriff’s office wrote Aug. 31 in a Facebook post.
Officials used spike strips to help stop the U-Haul before finding the missing baby inside. The baby was in the back of the van without the proper child restraints, according to deputies.
Also inside the van were the 2-month-old’s dad and the driver accused of leading the police chase, the sheriff’s office said.
“It’s disturbing whenever you have two adults without regard for anyone else especially when putting the life of a two-month-old baby into jeopardy,” Robert Bryan, the Wilson County sheriff, wrote in his department’s post. “That’s inexcusable.”
Now, the U-Haul driver is facing “charges of aggravated child endangerment, felony evading arrest, and driving on a suspended license,” officials said. The child’s father had warrants and was taken into custody.
Deputies in their news release didn’t say what happened to the child after the two adults were taken into custody.
This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 8:48 AM with the headline "Missing baby was unrestrained in U-Haul speeding from police, Tennessee cops say."
