ATLANTA — A Cobb County father is facing child endangerment charges after he got into a police chase with his four children in the SUV with him and then crashed his Jeep.
His wife told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell that he wasn’t speeding and didn’t stop initially because of negative experiences he had with police in the past.
Police say his children, who were in the backseat, weren’t wearing seatbelts or in car seats during the chase.
Denise Camacho said her children are afraid to get in a car. After police stopped the Jeep they were in with their dad earlier this month.
“My kids are traumatized, and it’s hard for them to even get in a car or hear the sirens,” Camacho said. “He says that once he was going to make a right turn into the police station, that’s when the officer hit him from the back, making the truck spin out and flipping it on its side.”
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According to the arrest warrant, investigators said Carlos Rubio was going 20 miles above the speed limit, driving erratically and recklessly as police chased him.
Camacho said her husband initially made a U-turn when he saw police, but didn’t realize it was a checkpoint.
“What he told me was he thought that it was an accident, so the road was closed. He says they were chasing him, but once he noticed, he wanted to get the kids to safety,” Camacho said.
Camacho told Newell that her husband didn’t stop because he was on his way to the police department to surrender.
“Why would the officer think, like, first thing is the PIT maneuver. I would like for them to be transparent and clear,” Camacho said.
Austell police told Newell that, per their policy, every pursuit has to be reviewed through the chain of command all the way up to the police chief, and that process is still ongoing.
They agreed to an interview about the arrest on Tuesday because they weren’t available on Monday.
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