Florida Man Arrested After Chasing Police, Abandoning Child

A man in Florida was taken into custody this week following a dramatic incident where he fled from law enforcement and crashed into another vehicle, leaving his child behind while trying to escape.

This all unfolded on Tuesday when officers attempted to stop 24-year-old Jason Kennon, who was traveling with an adult and two children, aged 1 and 4, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Kennon, having several outstanding warrants, accelerated away from police, weaving through traffic in Orlando. While officers pursued him, a sheriff’s helicopter kept him in view. The scene was chaotic.

Footage from body cameras shows Kennon carrying one of the children as he fled, momentarily leaving the child alone in the woods. It’s a startling image, really.

From above, the helicopter footage revealed Kennon trying to evade a black SUV at a stop sign, ultimately slamming into it. Post-collision, he kept driving as specified in the police reports.

He removed the adult and the 1-year-old from the vehicle but stopped in a neighborhood. Officers noted the 4-year-old was attempting to exit the car but couldn’t manage to do so before Kennon hit the gas again.

At one point, Kennon was seen stopping near a building, pulling the child from the back seat, while the little one chased him as he tried to evade police.

Eventually, Kennon dashed out of the alley, took off his shoes, and ran barefoot in the opposite direction from his child, at least according to the footage.

A few seconds later, he crossed the road, trying to climb a fence leading into a wooded area. By then, two police cars had already gathered at the scene, and officers instructed him to get on the ground.

Meanwhile, nearby, another officer retrieved the abandoned child, who was crying and clinging to Kennon’s shoe. Fortunately, neither child sustained injuries, as per the sheriff’s office.

Kennon now faces multiple charges, including aggravated fleeing and eluding, two counts of child abandonment, leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, along with marijuana possession and possessing a firearm during a felony.

This isn’t Kennon’s first run-in with the law; previously, he received a 94-day jail sentence from an Osceola County judge for breaking and entering and third-degree grand larceny, where he entered a no contest plea.

As for the ongoing warrants that the Orange County Sheriff’s Office was addressing during this incident, it’s still a bit unclear. Steps have been taken to get more information from the station.