Background: Highway 79 in Washington County, Fla. (Google Maps). Inset: Albert Dale Searcy (Washington County Sheriff's Office).
Police in Florida arrested a man who jumped out of the car he was driving after he realized his daughter called 911 to report him.
Albert Dale Searcy, 46, faces several charges, including child abuse and domestic violence battery, after police said he struck his wife, Heather Searcy, and his daughter while the family was driving on Highway 79 in Florida's Washington County. In a post on Facebook, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said dispatchers got a call on Monday from a girl who said her parents were fighting in the car, which was also carrying two other children.
Police said that when Albert Searcy realized the cops were behind him, he jumped out of the car he was driving while it was still moving.
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According to police, the girl who called 911 was able to tell dispatchers that she and her family were traveling on Highway 79 and provide a description of the vehicle "before the call was disconnected." Deputies were able to find the vehicle and signaled to the driver to stop.
The driver did not stop, police said, and instead "continued northbound for a short distance before he opened the driver's door and jumped from the moving vehicle." The driver was identified as Albert Searcy, who was found not long after the deputies stopped their own car to pursue him.
Police said that Heather Searcy was able to regain control of the moving vehicle by climbing over the console. She eventually pulled the vehicle over. When police caught up to her, they saw "signs consistent with a physical altercation" including injuries to her face. Heather Searcy told police that during the alleged altercation, she told her husband to stop the car so she and the three children inside could get out. Albert Searcy allegedly "refused" and kept driving.
Heather Searcy said that her husband had not only allegedly struck her but had also allegedly struck his daughter after realizing that she called 911 on him. She explained to police that the family had recently moved to Florida from Louisiana, which was where they had been heading during the alleged altercation.
Emergency medical responders cleared the family after treating them at the scene.
Albert Searcy was taken into custody and charged with child abuse, domestic violence battery, false imprisonment, tampering with or harassing a witness, attempting to elude law enforcement, resisting arrest, and driving with a suspended or revoked license. He was booked into Washington County Jail, where he remains behind bars.
