MARATHON, Fla. – Deputies in the Florida Keys arrested two men for street racing along U.S. 1 in Marathon Friday evening, authorities said. One of them, they said, had a child in the car.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, deputies saw Nissan and Chevrolet sedans racing near 89th Street at around 7 p.m., going roughly 80 mph, and stopped both cars.
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MCSO spokesperson Adam Linhardt said one of the participants, Michael Alvin Joseph Taute, had a 5-year-old with him in the car — and not in a car seat.
He said that led deputies to arrest Taute, 38, on a felony child neglect charge in addition to a misdemeanor street racing charge. Deputies turned the child over to a family member.
The 19-year-old he was racing with, Yunielkis Junior De Leon, was arrested on a misdemeanor street racing charge, Linhardt said.
Online records show both men remained in MCSO’s Key West jail facility as of Saturday morning, with no bonds listed.