LINNDALE, Ohio — Drunk, dangerous and possibly deadly. That’s how police described a situation that unfolded just before midnight on Friday in Linndale when officers stopped a man for suspected OVI.
“Do you have a license? ” the officer asked the man. “I do not,” he said.
Police said the man behind the wheel, who News 5 has decided not to name to protect the identities of his children, was nearly three times the legal limit. Police said they spotted the driver of the Ford Edge cross the line on Bellaire Road.
When the man finally stopped, police said officers made several disturbing discoveries inside the car.
Police said the man should not have been driving at all; he had a suspended license, and they found open containers inside the car along with multiple children.
“How many kids are in the backseat?” the officer asked the adults in the car.
“1,2,3,4,5,” the man’s wife told the officer. Police said the children, ranging in age from 19 months to 15 years old, were in the backseat.
Police said the toddler was not in a car seat, and the other children were not buckled up.
While there may have been five children in the back seat, there were six total in the car.
After police arrested the father, officers searched the car before towing it. Body camera video shows the officer opening the trunk and finding a 6-year-old girl inside the trunk.
“Do you have a child in the trunk?” the officer asked the mother.
“I have no idea. Is my child in the trunk? I was told my child was at her auntie's,” she said.
“Was she in there the whole time?” the officer said. “I have no idea,” the mother replied.
With the summer heat, Linndale Police Chief Tim Franzcak said this situation could have ended badly for many reasons.
“We’re talking about high temperatures, high humidity, with that type of heat and humidity just 20 minutes in a locked car is life threatening to anyone, let alone a 6-year-old,” said Franzcak.
Police said this was not the man’s first OVI. Now he’s facing a list of charges, including OVI, child endangerment and driving under suspension.
