, Fla. — Two different fathers were arrested over the weekend for driving drunk with a child in the car and are now facing child neglect charges. One father spoke exclusively to Channel 9 about the incident.
44-year-old James King was arrested for driving under the influence with his underaged son in the car. “Horrible, horrible mistake. It’s something I deeply regret. I understand that I’ve made a big mistake and I’m gonna have to pay for it.”
Deputies say, King’s son told them that his father had been drinking all night and, as he drove them to church the next morning, he noticed his father was all over the road. That’s when he convinced his dad to pull over and called for help.
Deputies arrested King in a lot off Aloma Avenue near his home. Investigators say King’s breathalyzer test was four times over the legal limit at 35.
This wasn’t the only arrest over the weekend involving an alleged drunk dad. Marion County Sheriff’s deputies took into custody 33-year-old Andrew Soto on charges of DUI and child neglect. Authorities say he was driving off the road at a high speed with a small child secured in a car seat.
Therapist Dr Libby Campbell says, “Unfortunately, it’s more common than we realize. I think it’s a great opportunity to remind ourselves not to drink and drive.”
Campbell says incidents like these by parents can cause stress, anxiety, and fear in children. “That’s always tricky because it shifts the responsibility from the child to now the child has to become the parent, and that is always really, really difficult.”
King says this is the first time he’s been arrested and plans to apologize to his son for putting him in this position. But it may not be enough.
We talked to Kari Russo, Director of First Orlando Counseling Center, about what happens in general to children who are endangered by their parents’ substance abuse. “Children can be taken away from their parents when there’s substance abuse. In fact, it’s a very common reason.”
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office released this statement saying:
“Obviously, this young man did a very difficult, but important thing. It’s very heartening to think that the teenager was thinking about not just his own safety, but the safety of others, when he made that call. Doing the right thing can be hard sometimes, but we are grateful that he called law enforcement, and no one was hurt because of the bad choices his dad made.”
Meanwhile King says he’s planning to apologize to his son and work on himself, “I’m writing him a letter right now. It was a horrible experience and I’m trying to figure it out right now. I’ve got a lot of a lot of work I need to do.”
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