Father charged with leading troopers on chase with kids in car

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

A Columbus-area man is facing charges after troopers say he led them on a high-speed chase on Ohio 4 in Clark County — with his two young kids in the car with him.

Kenneth Moreland, 29, was arraigned in Clark County Municipal Court on Monday with fleeing/eluding officers, endangering children as well as nearly 10 traffic offenses.

Not guilty pleas were entered for him and his total bond was set at $7,000.

According to court documents filed by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, a trooper pulled Moreland over on I-70 near Ohio 4 for erratic driving early Saturday morning.

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But when the trooper walked up to the car, Moreland sped away.

OSP Sgt. Rod Murphy said the trooper got in his cruiser to go after him. Murphy said the chase only lasted about a minute.

“We believe (the suspect) was about 100 mph,” he said.

During that chase, troopers say Moreland clipped a pick up truck on the road. He lost control and went off the left side of the road, hit a concrete barrier, went back across and the highway and hit a guardrail — before finally stopping in the median.

The court documents continue on to say that Moreland tried to run away from the crash, but he was eventually taken into custody by the trooper.

Moreland’s two young children — ages 3 and 6 — were in the car with him in the front seat, unbuckled.

“I could hear the kids crying for their daddy,” the trooper said.

Sgt. Murphy added, “They were scared. We tried to comfort them.”

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The kids were taken to Dayton Children’s Hospital for minor injuries. Moreland was also taken to Soin Medical Center for similar injuries.

Troopers say that when they searched Moreland’s vehicle, they found a half-empty bottle of whiskey in the front seat.

Court documents say he told troopers that he had been at bachelor party before picking his kids up at his dad’s house.

“He stated he consumed two shots and had taken two hits on his cousin’s blunt at the club,” an affidavit in the case says.

Moreland refused to give a urine sample or blood sample, but was still charged with an OVI, as well several other offenses.

As of Monday evening, Moreland was still in custody at the Clark County Jail.

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