VIDEO: Driver Gets Jail, ICE Detainer After Pursuit With 3-Year-Old in Back Seat

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — A driver has been ordered to serve 10 days in jail and pay $1,000 on a misdemeanor fleeing charge stemming from a pursuit with a 3-year-old child in the back seat, but that’s just the start of his trouble. 

West Memphis police charged Mohammad Ibrahim Abuzaid, 36, with misdemeanor fleeing after the Sept. 14 pursuit. That charge has been resolved, but five separate charges filed by an Arkansas State Police trooper remain pending.

Those charges are first-offense reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, driving with expired registration, having no liability insurance and a seat belt violation, according to court records.

The incident began about 2:45 p.m. near Missouri Road and Interstate 40, according to an Arkansas State Police incident report obtained by NEA Report. Trooper Collier Wright wrote that he heard West Memphis police radio traffic about a gold Toyota Corolla that had failed to yield, prompting officers to begin a pursuit.

Radio updates indicated the car had an expired license plate and a broken rear window. Officers also reported that a small child was in the back seat and that one of the rear doors swung open during sharp turns.

West Memphis police ended the pursuit near Waverly and Mounds roads because of the risk to the child, the report states. Two officers in unmarked vehicles continued following the Corolla without emergency lights or sirens.

Even after the marked units backed off, the car allegedly continued moving erratically. Wright said the driver passed tractor-trailers across double yellow lines and cut through residential yards. An officer following the vehicle initially suspected the driver was highly intoxicated.

Wright wrote that he approached without activating his emergency equipment because he feared the driver would become more reckless if he knew a trooper was nearby. The trooper caught up to the car in a sharp turn about 3:05 p.m.

The driver accelerated after spotting the trooper and nearly lost control in the turn, according to the report. Wright then activated his lights and siren, moved alongside the Corolla and passed it. He slowed his patrol vehicle in front of the car to force it to decelerate.

The driver repeatedly honked and tried to maneuver around the patrol vehicle before stopping on the left shoulder, Wright wrote. The vehicles stopped about 6 inches apart, window to window, and West Memphis officers took the driver into custody without further incident.

The 3-year-old was secured in a car seat, and the Arkansas Department of Human Services took custody of the child, according to the report.

The report also states that Abuzaid’s driver’s license was suspended, the Corolla’s registration was expired and the vehicle was uninsured. The car was impounded.

Standardized field sobriety tests were conducted at the Crittenden County jail. Despite the officer’s earlier suspicion, Wright wrote that Abuzaid did not appear to be intoxicated during those tests.

The report says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was notified and lodged a detainer on Abuzaid. The document does not explain the basis for that detainer.

Although the ASP report said West Memphis police would handle the criminal charges, court records show the agencies filed separate cases. The West Memphis misdemeanor fleeing case has been resolved, while the charges filed by Wright remain pending.

The unresolved charges remain allegations. Abuzaid is presumed innocent on those charges unless and until proven guilty.