Drunken Driving Suspect Caught Fleeing From Burning Car While Carrying 2-Year-Old Daughter

Oklahoma City police arrested a father Thursday after he was caught running from a burning car with his two-year-old daughter.

Thursday, June 30th 2022, 6:28 pm



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Oklahoma City police arrested a father Thursday after he was caught running from a burning car with his 2-year-old daughter.

Police officials said 25-year-old Caleb Ruth abandoned the burning car near Northwest 34th Street and North Western Avenue.

Related: Police Respond To Car Fire, Arrest Driver Who Allegedly Fled From Officers

Passersby reported seeing Ruth and his daughter inside a burning car just after midnight Thursday.

“A witness actually had to pull up next to him and tell him that his vehicle was on fire,” Oklahoma City Police Department Sergeant Dillon Quirk said.

When police and fire crews showed up to the scene, they said the car was fully engulfed, but Ruth and his young daughter were gone.

“Witnesses told officers there was a male that had run from the vehicle with a small child,” Quirk said.

Those witnesses pointed officers in the direction where Ruth was seen running. A short time later, the man was found hiding by a home, holding his child. 

“For whatever reason, the male had dropped the child over a fence and then jumped the fence himself, attempting to flee from police custody,” Quirk said.

Police said the child was visibly upset but unharmed. Her father tried to run from authorities again. In the process, he allegedly assaulted an officer. Ruth was taken into custody and told officers he threw his daughter over a fence because he was scared.

“He exhibited signs that he was under the influence of alcohol,” Quirk said. “He was booked in the Oklahoma County Detention Center on complaints of DUI and child endangerment.”

Officers added resisting arrest and assault and battery on an officer to the list when they took Ruth to jail.

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