Officials: Father set truck on fire with 3-year-old inside, jumped out window during chase
Deputies said the mother of the child was violently assaulted and the boy is in critical condition
BELTON, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A father was arrested Wednesday after he kidnapped his child, assaulted the mother and took deputies on a chase that ended with a fiery crash across the Georgia state line, according to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. The 3-year-old boy who was pulled from the burning car is in critical condition.
The sheriff’s office said deputies were called to a home along Harris Avenue in Belton on Wednesday after 31-year-old Joshua Dornellas violently assaulted the mother of his child. Dornellas then kidnapped the boy and left the house, deputies said.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office followed the suspect in an unmarked car. Investigators said the boy was in the front seat and Dornellas threatened his life.
“Our force was tracking the suspect without initiating blue lights as to not endanger the little boy or nearby drivers,” a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said.
Around 1 p.m., Dornellas reportedly crossed into Georgia on I-85 and Georgia State Patrol troopers began chasing him.
Troopers said during the pursuit, Dornellas intentionally set a fire in the truck. As the vehicle filled with smoke, he jumped out through the window while it was traveling 55 mph, leaving the child behind.
The truck crashed into an embankment, engulfing it in flames with the little boy still inside.
Georgia troopers, Georgia Motor Carrier Compliance Division officers, and deputies from Anderson, Franklin and Hart counties all rushed to extinguish the fire and pull the child from the floorboard of the truck. He suffered severe burns and was airlifted to the Augusta Burn Center.
Georgia State Patrol took Dornellas into custody and transported him to Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center for the injuries he sustained.
Dornellas has a history of violence, according to deputies. They said on April 21 he left five children, all under age 11, unsupervised at home. A toddler was found outside alone.
He was charged with domestic violence on April 28 and the mother of his children took out an order of protection against him.
“As an agency, our hearts are with the child’s mother as she faces this unimaginable situation,” the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said in a release. “We ask the community for their continued prayers for the 3-year-old boy as he fights inside the trauma center.”
A GoFundMe has been set up for the 3-year-old Bennett’s medical expenses. Stay with us as we work to learn more.
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