A man in Bixby, Oklahoma is accused of abandoning his family on the side of the road after a car crash which claimed the life of his 16-year-old daughter.
According to Bixby Police Chief Todd Blish, Elliott Binney was driving his wife, teen daughter Shelby and two other elementary school children home around 9pm on January 11 when the incident occurred.
"A vehicle was discovered to have passed in a no-passing zone and lost control in the rain, and the vehicle flipped and overturned," he explained to
, as witnesses put his speed around 70MPH at the time.
Shelby was thrown from the car; she wasn't wearing a seatbelt. The teen was pronounced dead at the hospital, where Elliott's three other family members were also treated.
He, however, allegedly fled the scene of the crash.
A witness told the outlet he saw a man outside the SUV, but after asking him who else was in the vehicle and trying to get him to sit down, he ran off. The witness said he appeared disoriented.
Per Blish, Binney left the scene on foot and picked up another vehicle before leaving the area.
He was tracked electronically by authorities, who were seen arresting him 12 hours later in bodycam footage. The bodycam footage is below, but must be viewed on YouTube.
The video shows cops, guns drawn, surrounding a truck and telling Binney to exit with his hands up. After making sure he wasn't armed, they cuffed him and put him in a patrol car. While searching his vehicle, authorities found an open vodka bottle, marijuana and several pill bottles with labels ripped.
"That truck's pretty dirty, there's no telling what all's in there," he was seen telling police, appearing to slur his words as he spoke.
"I don't know where my wallet went."
He also said he had a card for marijuana, but it wasn't on him.
When he was apprehended, he had two black eyes and a busted-up face, both of which could also be seen in his booking photo. He was charged with first-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death, and passing in a no-passing zone.
An open bottle of vodka was also found in the original vehicle, with Binney allegedly telling police they stopped to purchase it on the way home and he had a "gulp" of it while driving.
According to the arrest report, via , he claimed he hit an oil spot, causing the vehicle to run off the road. His wife also told police they were arguing before the crash.
"It tears at your soul when a child is killed in a traffic accident, especially accidents or incidents that are preventable," said Blish. "It affects that family. It's a burden they're going to bear the east of their life, not to mention her friends and family and our officers that responded to the scene. They're affected by this too."
