OKC Police Arrest 2 Accused Of DUI, Endangering 8 Children In Their Care

An OKC metro driver and her passenger were accused of endangering eight children who were in their care.

Oklahoma City police arrested 27-year-old Erin Sweet on Friday for driving under the influence. Police said some of the children were riding in the bed of Sweet’s truck. 

A car crash in the parking lot of a Hobby Lobby near the Northwest Expressway and Rockwell Avenue turned chaotic. A witness told officers Sweet appeared intoxicated with a truck full of children ranging in ages from four to 13-years-old.

Sweet also had an adult passenger in the front seat. Officers noted in a report 30-year-old Vincent Hudson refused to step out of the truck.

According to the report, Hudson yelled profanities at officers and yelled for the children to run from police.

“Started yelling for the children and these were small children to run for their lives,” Oklahoma City Police Department Master Sergeant Gary Knight said. “The children began running in all directions. This is right up there on Northwest highway (expressway). A very dangerous intersection.”

Police learned Sweet and Hudson were not the legal guardians and had to call the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to the scene.

“Officers were able to corral them and get them to a point of safety,” Knight said. “And turn them over to a relative.”

While officers were investigating, they detained Sweet and Hudson in the back of patrol cars. During that time, police said the woman attempted to escape custody three times. 

“The female slipped out of her handcuffs in the back of a police car,” said Knight. “Tried to escape and ended up banging her head numerous times against the glass of the police vehicle.”

The report indicated Sweet was driving without a driver’s license and insurance.

Sweet and Hudson were arrested and booked into jail on eight counts of child endangerment and driving while under the influence.