GRANDVIEW, MO (KCTV) -
A 23-year-old father has been charged for driving while under the influence and other traffic charges after leading police on a 100 mph chase with his 2-year-old son. The boy was unbuckled in the back seat, police said.
While Byron Williams has bonded out of jail on city charges, the Grandview Police Department has continued an investigation of child endangerment for possible charges in state court.
"I've heard of some weird ones, but this is not your typical one you run across," Grandview Det. Dean Van Winkle said Monday.
Grandview police observed a red 2003 Dodge Stratus at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday speeding south on an access road near Blue Ridge Boulevard.
The officer attempted to stop the vehicle which then entered southbound Interstate 49 and then exited the highway at 140th Street.
Authorities said Williams continued to speed down the access road, running a red light. At that time, the officer stopped chasing the vehicle.
Grandview police said the officer later drove up on Williams' vehicle which was still rolling down the access road.
When the vehicle stopped on its own, the officer found it occupied by a 2-year-old boy who was not in his car seat.
"The vehicle was still rolling, but the driver had abandoned the vehicle," Winkle explained. "The officer found the vehicle occupied by a 2-year-old that was not in a car seat who was just free in the vehicle."
Kansas City officers assisted Grandview police in searching the area close to the road where the car had been abandoned.
Williams, later identified as the child's father, was found in the creek hiding in waist-deep water.
He was taken to an area hospital suffering from hypothermia. The subject appeared to be under the influence of drugs, police said.
The child was placed in the custody of Missouri social workers.
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