Kearney, Neb. (CNN) — It was a frightening trip for two children heading to Colorado for a vacation with their dad behind the wheel.
14-year-old Mackenzie Behrens said, “We told him we don’t want to go anymore because you are drunk and I don’t want to die.”
Ethan and Mackenzie say this wasn’t the first time. Their mother, Amy Brooks said, “I think this last time they were scared enough that they had no other choice.”
Ethan said his dad was swerving close to other vehicles, so they texted police, sending Kearney Police on a hunt to find the rental car they were in before they would embark onto the Interstate.
Mackenzie said, “I was like I can drive better than this. He said, ‘That’s fine I can pull over and you can drive.’ And I said, ‘I’m not legal, if I was legal I would.’”
The kids describe almost hitting another car head on, and they continued to beg him to pull over. Ethan said, “He’s like, ‘I’m not drunk.” And then he kept on driving and that’s when the point where I got really really scared and I just started praying a lot.”
The kids say it was their idea to pull over at a Burger King to stop and get something to eat. That’s when the cops caught up with them. “And he looked back at us and said, ‘You’ve been texting the cops,’” said Ethan.
Amy said, “I was very angry but it was kind of a bittersweet moment to where the better part is that they are safe now that I came and picked them up. The other part is that finally people will know and maybe listen to me.”
That day, Jason Behrens blew nearly three times the legal limit. The kids say if they could go back they would do the same.
Ethan said, “He’s our parent, our other parent. It was hard, but he just pushed us to the point that we had to.”
The children are in the care of their mother for the time being. “I’ll forever keep them safe,” she said.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.