A drunk mom was arrested after she abandoned her two young kids with an Uber driver for more than two hours, while she allegedly went drinking at a restaurant in Florida, authorities said.
Emily Sabogal was arrested on Feb. 13 after local police responded to the rideshare driver’s 911 call, alerting authorities that the intoxicated mother had left her two toddlers with him and fled.
The Uber driver told cops that he believed Sabogal, 32, entered his vehicle drunk, with her 4-year-old and 3-year-old in tow, and was drinking from a cup of alcohol that smelt like rum, according to bodycam footage obtained by CBS News.
The drunk mom allegedly kept uttering “he thinks I’m stupid” in Spanish and told the driver to turn, deviating from the GPS, before reaching over the center console, where she grabbed the Uber driver’s phone and canceled the ride and handed him a $10 bill, NBC South Florida reported.
Sabogal told the driver — who has not been publicly identified — that she’d only be gone for three minutes before she walked out of the vehicle. The driver called the mom after an hour, who said she would be back in 12 minutes and hung up, according to the outlet.
After being unable to reach the mom again, the driver called 911, almost two hours after she had left the vehicle.
Police arrived to find the children thirsty and hungry, but ‘in good health and spirits,’ according to NBC South Florida.
The mom was found by police walking outside a McDonalds more than two miles away, appearing intoxicated and slurring her words as she answered their questions — and was charged with one count of child neglect and two counts of desertion of a child, authorities said.
Officers could allegedly smell alcohol on the breath of the mom, who was unable to explain how she ended up at the McDonalds or why she abandoned her kids, NBC South Florida reported.
“I don’t know what’s going on right now,” Sabogal said to officers in the bodycam footage.
“What’s going on? You deserted your kids for two hours! That’s what’s going on,” the Sunrise Police officer said, according to the footage. “The Uber driver’s been sitting with your kids waiting for you to come back for the past two hours.”
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Sabogal claimed she had been going home and that her “situation’s a little bit complicated” — adding that her phone had died and she “had not done anything wrong.”
“Your number one priority should be your kids,” an officer said.
“My children, absolutely, 100 percent, oh my god, listen, I’m not a criminal,” the mom said.
The mom had been to a local restaurant she visits “up to five times a week” and had consumed several alcoholic beverages after fleeing the Uber, according to NBC South Florida, citing authorities.
Sabogal appeared in court on Feb. 15 and was released from jail after posting a $1,500 bond for each charge.
