Drug-Fueled Parents Arrested After Allegedly Abducting Infant, Driving With Missing Tire Near Cloverdale
ROHNERT PARK (CBS SF) -- Parents of a three-month-old infant have been arrested after allegedly abducting the child in Oregon and driving on the freeway a with a missing tire while intoxicated.
The California Highway Patrol said an officer responded to a call at 5:40 a.m. Wednesday of a vehicle collision and found a disabled minivan on Highway 128 just north of Cloverdale.
The officer found the vehicle had not crashed but had instead become disabled after driving "a considerable distance" without a left front tire, and the wheel had been worn down to the hub, according to a CHP press release.
The driver was identified as 25-year-old Lars Dunaway; his passengers were 23-year-old Kristen Sandidge and the couple's infant, residents of Sutherlin, Oregon.
The CHP said Dunaway displayed signs of extreme drug intoxication, could not answer basic questions and was wearing only shorts and shoes while temperatures were in the 30s. Sandidge was found to be similarly intoxicated and holding the infant, and the officer convinced Sandidge to place the infant back in the car seat due to the temperature, the CHP said.
Both Dunaway and Sandidge were arrested. Before getting handcuffed, Sandidge tried to grab the car seat with the infant and run away, but the CHP officer and a Sonoma County deputy who had also arrived chased her and got control of the infant's car seat, the CHP said.
Investigators determined the infant's grandparents in Oregon have legal custody of the child and the parents had allegedly fled the state with him.
The baby was taken to the Cloverdale Police Department. Officers and Cloverdale citizens brought in clothing, formula, diapers and other items for him and he was returned to the grandparents later Wednesday, according to the CHP.
Dunaway faces charges of DUI, being under the influence of a controlled substance, driving while suspended, and child endangerment. Sandidge was booked on charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance and resisting officers.