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Sheboygan toddlers nearly hit after falling out of moving van, dad charged with OWI

Posted at 5:51 PM, May 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-02 18:51:11-04

Police said a 40-year-old Sheboygan father was arrested for his 5th OWI, two counts of child neglect, and operating with a revoked license, after his 1-year-old and 3-year-old boys fell out of his moving van. 

It happened at the roundabout at South 8th Street and Indiana Avenue.

Kara Voigt lives and works feet from where it happened. She was walking home from work when she saw a toddler in the middle of the street. 

“They were running right through there and actually I thought one of the cars was going to actually hit the kid,” said Voigt. 

“Then a guy in a green car actually grabbed the kids and got them off the road,” Voigt also said. 

The dad, according to police, was not at the scene when officers and emergency personnel arrived. When police found him at his house, he told officers he wasn’t aware his kids fell out of his van. 

“I would suggest that there’s a good chance that maybe his level of impairment might have something to do with that,” said Lt. Doug Teunissen with the Sheboygan Police Dept.

Police suspect the man took some kind of medication, but Teunissen said toxicology results will reveal more.

The children were taken to the hospital. Besides road rash and scrapes, one of them had a skull fracture and had to be transferred out of the area for medical care.

Police are not releasing the father's name until he’s officially charged. The District Attorney’s office said that’s expected to happen Thursday morning. 

“I hope he does get charged and I really do and I hope CPS gets involved,” Voigt said.