Dania Beach man ditches son who couldn't keep up during police chase

Jerry McCabe faces child neglect, child abuse charges

Police say Jerry McCabe was arrested after he ran from an officer and left his 5-year-old son behind because he couldn't keep up.

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – A Dania Beach man who fled from police during an attempted traffic stop bailed out of his car and took off running with his 5-year-old son before ditching the boy when he couldn't keep up, police said.

Jerry McCabe, 27, was arrested Tuesday on multiple charges, including child abuse and child neglect.

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According to a Pembroke Pines police arrest report, McCabe was driving a Dodge Charger without a valid license when an officer attempted a traffic stop.

Police said McCabe refused to stop and led the officer on a chase, weaving in and out of traffic on Pines Boulevard.

The car's two driver's side tires eventually blew out, so McCabe and his son got out and ran away, the report said.

Police said the officer chased after them and ordered them to stop, but they kept running. During the pursuit, the officer heard McCabe yelling at the boy to keep up, the report said.

McCabe left the boy and jumped over a barbed-wire fence while the officer stayed behind to be with the boy, the report said.

Once a security guard at a nearby building agreed to watch the boy, the officer started to chase McCabe again. Police said McCabe later surrendered after the officer chased him across Hollywood Boulevard.

After he was arrested, McCabe told police that he was taking his son to get a physical for football and was running from the officer because he didn't have a valid license and had marijuana in his car, the report said.

McCabe also faces one count of driving with a suspended license, resisting arrest without violence, possession of marijuana and fleeing with disregard of safety to persons or property.


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Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.

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