Alpharetta’s Chuck E. Cheese closes at 10 p.m., but that didn’t stop a dad from speeding to get there on a recent Friday evening.
But even at 100 miles per hour, Shane Elzey wasn’t going to make it in time as it was five minutes past closing when officers stopped his car April 29.
Still, that’s the excuse 27-year-old gave officers for his speed, according to a police report. He said he wanted to get his 7-year-old son, who was in the front passenger seat without a car seat, to the restaurant.
“I told him to slow down and he didn’t listen,” the boy said to an officer. He also said his dad “goes to jail every day.”
The tan Ford Taurus sped down Ga. 400 under the control of a driver with a “strong odor of alcohol on his breath,” according to what was written in the police report. Elzey first blamed the smell on his back seat passenger, Jessica Patton, who was lying across the back seats when the officer stopped the car, according to the report.
Then, Elzey admitted he drank a shot of liquor and agreed to both a field sobriety test and a Breathalyzer test.
Before the heel-to-toe portion of the field sobriety test, Elzey said he suffered from Osgood-Schlatter disease, which is usually found in adolescents experiencing growth spurts during puberty and usually goes away on its own once the bones stop growing, according to the Mayo Clinic's website.
“Elzey then claimed to have Osgood-Schaller disease that would prevent him from taking heel-to-toe steps,” the officer wrote in the report. “Due to this I did not ask Elzey to continue with the evaluation.”
The officer did, however, place Elzey in handcuffs under arrest. That’s when Patton perked up and protested, according to the report.
Both adults were arrested and became increasingly more argumentative, police said.
Elzey went to jail on charges of driving under the influence, child endangerment, reckless driving, speeding, child safety seat violation and disorderly conduct.
Patton threatened suicide and was released to North Fulton Regional Hospital with a summons to appear in court for disorderly conduct charges. The car was impounded and the 7-year-old was picked up by his grandparent, according to the police report.
