Florida dad driving 128 MPH with kids in car found with fentanyl during arrest: deputies
Dad caught driving 128 MPH with kids in car: deputies
James Keosavanh was arrested after he was clocked driving nearly 130 mph in Flagler County on Sunday, according to deputies. He was charged with reckless driving, possession of fentanyl and two counts of child abuse without great bodily harm. (Video: Flagler County Sheriff's Office)
BUNNELL, Fla. - A Florida dad was arrested after he was caught driving at nearly 130 mph in a 60 mph zone with his two children in the car, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. Further investigation revealed that this wasn't the 39-year-old's first time allegedly speeding with his kids in the car.
James Keosavanh was arrested for reckless driving and two counts of child abuse without great bodily harm after the incident that unfolded near SR-11 in Bunnell late Sunday night. During the traffic stop, two small baggies containing a substance that later tested presumptive positive for fentanyl were found in his wallet, adding a possession charge, deputies said.
Just before midnight on Sunday, a deputy was patrolling the Bunnell area when she clocked an Audi speeding through an intersection. That car was clocked at 128 mph in a 60 mph zone, according to an arrest affidavit.
The Audi came to a stop in the 13000 block of SR-11, and the deputy conducted a traffic stop.
James Keosavanh was arrested and cnarged with possession of fentanyl, reckless driving and two counts of child abuse without great bodily harm on May 27, 2024. (Photo: Flagler County Sheriff's Office)
"I'm sorry," he said as he got out of his car, the affidavit said.
The deputy asked if there was anyone else inside his car, to which Keosavanh said his two kids were inside.
"I'm sorry," he said again.
The deputy then asked why he was driving recklessly and speeding, to which he replied, "I don't have no really good excuse," according to the affidavit. Keosavanh also told the deputy that he knew he was going over 100 mph on the back road.
James Keosavanh was arrested and cnarged with possession of fentanyl, reckless driving and two counts of child abuse without great bodily harm on May 27, 2024. (Photo: Flagler County Sheriff's Office)
One of Keosavanh's kids was sitting in a child restraint in the back seat, while the other was riding shotgun, the affidavit said. They told the deputy they were OK – and when the deputy asked if their dad had driven this way with them in the car, they said yes.
"(One of the children) indicated he had reached speeds of 110 mph before with them in the vehicle," the affidavit said.
Florida mom accused of hiring hitman to avenge teenage son's murder prison sentence
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office said that the kids could have been injured physically due to how fast Keosavanh was driving.
"(The deputy) asked James to explain to me why he continues to drive at high rate of speed with his children in the car and he stated he can't explain it to me in a way that I would be able to understand," the affidavit said.
During a search after his arrest, the deputy found two small baggies inside his wallet which contained a powdery substance that later tested presumptive positive for fentanyl, according to the affidavit.
Before the drug field test, the deputy asked Keosavanh what the substance was, and he reportedly said he believed it was meth and that he'd paid $40 a bag.
UCF student reunites with first responders who saved his life after wrong-way crash
"He stated that he consumed a ‘bump’ out of the bag several hours ago at his brother's house," the affidavit said.
The sheriff's office contacted the Department of Children and Families and the children were turned over to their grandparents.
Keosavanh has since been released from the Flagler County Jail after posting $6,500 bond.