A family argument on a Florida highway spiraled into a scene that sounds like something out of an action movie, only with real people and real consequences. Deputies say a father bailed out of the driver’s seat of a moving car during a domestic dispute, leaving his partner and three children inside as the vehicle kept rolling. The man survived with a bloody face and road rash, but he was arrested, and the case now sits at the intersection of family violence, child safety, and criminal law.
What started as a fight between parents in a packed car ended with a terrified child calling 911 and a chaotic traffic stop that could easily have turned deadly. The details that have emerged from Florida law enforcement paint a picture of a man, identified as Albert Searcy, making one reckless decision after another until officers finally put him in handcuffs.
The 911 call, the highway jump, and a car full of kids
According to investigators, the chain of events began when a child in the back seat dialed 911 to report that her parents were fighting while the family drove along a Florida highway. Deputies later said the girl told dispatchers that her father was behind the wheel and that the argument had turned physical, prompting officers to start looking for the vehicle described in the call, a search that would soon focus on Highway 79 in Washington County. A social media post from deputies describes the child as traveling with both parents when she made the call.
Washington County officials say The Washington County Sheriff’s Office soon spotted the vehicle heading along Highway 79, with three children inside. A deputy activated lights and siren in an attempt to pull the car over, but the driver kept going, according to a detailed account of the pursuit. At that point, officials say the situation escalated from a domestic disturbance in a moving vehicle to a dangerous encounter on a busy road, as the car continued northbound despite the patrol car behind it, a sequence also described in a report that notes the driver did not immediately stop after officers tried to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle.
What happened next is the moment that grabbed national attention. As the car moved along the highway, officials say the father suddenly opened the door and jumped out of the driver’s seat, leaving his partner and three kids in a still-moving vehicle. A Facebook post attributed to Chrystal Sands describes how “a man jumped out of the driver’s seat of a moving vehicle on Highway 79 in Washington County with three children in the car,” a detail that underscores just how close this came to a multi-car crash.
A bloody arrest and a stack of serious charges
When deputies caught up with the father, he was no longer behind the wheel but on the side of the road, scraped up from his leap onto the pavement. Booking photos show a bloody face and what officials describe as road rash, injuries consistent with hitting the asphalt at speed. Another account notes that florida police believe the father’s string of choices, from the domestic fight to the jump, created a cascade of risks for everyone on the road, a point echoed in a video segment that walks through how the car kept moving with the family still inside after the driver bailed out on the highway.
Deputies say that when they reached the car and spoke with the children’s mother, they observed signs that the earlier argument had turned violent. One report notes that Deputies “observed signs consistent with a physical altercation, including apparent injuries” to the woman’s face, a detail that appears in a summary of the case that highlights the visible marks on her skin and the children’s account of the fight, as described in a piece that quotes Deputies directly. Another account of the same incident notes that the girl who called 911 told dispatchers her parents were fighting and that her father had attacked her mother, a detail repeated in a report that attributes the call to a frightened child who reached out as the argument escalated in the car.
Domestic chaos, child bravery, and what comes next
From there, the legal fallout piled up quickly. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has identified the driver as Albert Searcy and outlined a slate of charges that include domestic battery, child abuse and driving with a suspended or revoked license, according to a detailed breakdown of the case that names Albert Searcy and notes the license issue. Another report explains that a deputy who first tried to stop the car did so “in an attempt to conduct a traffic stop” before the driver jumped, a phrase that appears in a summary of the pursuit that describes how the officer activated lights and siren before the situation turned even more volatile on the highway. A separate account of the same statement repeats that a deputy located the vehicle and tried to pull it over before the driver leapt out, a detail echoed in another write-up that quotes the language about the attempted traffic stop and the suspended license in describing the pursuit.
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