Washington State Patrol troopers arrested a suspected intoxicated driver on southbound Interstate 5 Thursday morning following a brief scuffle. And then they found a toddler — alive — under the passenger seat of the man’s truck.
Troopers had pulled over another vehicle on the freeway when they noticed a Ford pickup truck weaving on the road. One of the troopers tried to flag down the truck and get it to pull over, but it kept driving, said WSP spokesman Will Finn.
The law-enforcement duo hopped back in their cruiser and pursued the truck, which initially stopped in a lane of travel before the troopers were able to instruct its driver to the right side of the freeway, Finn said.
“The man turned out to be impaired, and there was a short struggle,” Finn said. The man did not want to exit his vehicle. No one was injured when the man allegedly resisted, he said.
After the man was handcuffed, the troopers noticed scrapes on his hands. The injuries were inconsistent with the fight that just occurred, so the troopers made some calls. It turned out the man had allegedly been involved in a domestic violence incident prior to his arrest, Finn said.
About 15 minutes later, a trooper was looking inside the now-arrested man’s Ford when they noticed what appeared to be an infant under the passenger seat of the truck. Troopers pulled a child, a 14-month-old, from under the seat.
It’s unknown how the child ended up there. Finn did not say whether the toddler was injured.
Finn said the man grabbed the child during the domestic violence incident and took off. He did not immediately know the relationship between the toddler and the man.
The driver was booked into Clark County Jail on suspicion of felony eluding, misdemeanor driving under the influence and failing to obey a peace officer’s directions, according to Finn.
