Mom Arrested After Allegedly Leaving Her 3-Year-Old and 4-Year-Old with Her Uber Driver for Hours While She Went to a Shopping Plaza

YOU NEED TO KNOW

• A mother of two was arrested for allegedly leaving her 4- and 3-year-old children with an Uber driver for two hours while she went shopping.

• Woman accused of neglecting child once and abandoning child twice was allegedly drunk

• Emily Sabogal appeared in court on February 15 and her bail was set at $1,500 on each charge and she was later released after posting bail.

A Florida mother was arrested after being accused of leaving her 4- and 3-year-old children with an Uber driver for hours while she went shopping at a nearby mall.

Emily Sabogal was arrested in Sunrise, Florida, after Sunrise Police responded to the Uber driver’s 911 call on February 13. CBS Miami. He was charged with one count of child neglect and two counts of child abandonment.

“So how long have you been here?” the officer asked in newly released body camera footage obtained by CBS Miami and other South Florida outlets.

“Over two hours,” the Uber driver explained.

Police said the children were thirsty and hungry but were in “good spirits,” CBS Miami reported.

In the footage, the Uber driver told police that he believed 32-year-old Sabogal entered the vehicle under the influence of alcohol and that he brought with him a glass of liquid that smelled of rum.

When backup arrived, an officer “kept telling him to turn around,” he said, CBS Miami reported, citing police footage. “You know, deviating from what the GPS said. He goes, just cancel the trip and I’ll give you extra money. He gives him like $10. It ends here. He leaves the parking lot. He disappears.”

The driver claimed Sabogal then took his phone, canceled his Uber ride, and gave him a $10 bill. WFLA reports. The mother of two allegedly told the driver that she would be gone for three minutes before getting out of the car, and the Uber driver, whose identity was not publicly disclosed, called the police after driving for an hour.

Speaking to NBC Miami, a police officer said in the footage, “You left your children alone for two hours, it was more than two hours.”

Sabogal allegedly then claimed he was going home and added: “My situation is a bit complicated.”

The police officer was seen telling him, “Your number one priority should be your children.”

“My kids, absolutely 100 percent, oh my God, listen, I’m not a criminal,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on right now.”

“What happened is you left your kids alone for two hours, that’s what happened,” the officer added. “That Uber driver has been sitting with your kids for the last two hours, waiting for you to come back.”

Sabogal allegedly later told the police that his phone was turned off. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” Sabogal said. “I have no idea what’s going on. I’m sorry, I understand you, I understand your business. I understand your whole personality. I understand,” he said in footage obtained by WFLA. NBC South Florida.

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An investigation revealed that Sabogal went to a local restaurant she frequents with her children and consumed numerous alcoholic beverages, NBC South Florida reported, citing police.

Sabogal appeared in court on February 15. He was released from jail after posting a $1,500 bond, according to NBC South Florida.

PEOPLE reached out to the Sunrise Police Department.

Read the original article People