Quick-thinking employees at a Chick-fil-A in New Jersey may have saved a 6-year-old girl from danger, according to police.
A male motorist went to the drive-thru of the Turnersville fast-food joint with his 6-year-old daughter in his pickup truck.
One of the officers allegedly distracted the daughter so she wouldn’t see her father being arrested.
Fast-acting Chick-fil-A workers allegedly noticed the motorist in the drive-thru smelled of alcohol — as well as spotting the young child in his vehicle.
“They smelled alcohol on his breath, and they were able to see all that alcohol inside the car,” Washington Township Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik told WTXF-TV.
The outlet reported that there was an open beer can in the car — plus a 30-pack of beer, and a trash bag full of empty alcohol containers.
Bodycam video shows officers retrieving the alcohol from the vehicle.
The female Chick-fil-A employee who smelled the alcohol allegedly informed the manager, who in turn contacted police.
In order to prevent the driver from getting back on the roads and potentially causing an accident, Chick-fil-A employees reportedly informed the driver to pull over and wait for his order.
While waiting for his food, police officers made it to restaurant within five minutes and approached the driver before he departed.
Chief Gurcsik noted that the man was “extremely cooperative” with law enforcement.
Upon arrival at the Chick-fil-A, police conducted field sobriety tests — which the driver reportedly failed. The driver took a breathalyzer test that reportedly revealed a blood-alcohol level of .16 — twice the legal limit.
The driver was heard telling cops on the police bodycam footage, “I was just trying to go home and get to bed, you know?”
Police arrested the driver.
One of the officers allegedly distracted the daughter so she wouldn’t see her father being arrested.
Officers occupied the 6-year-old girl with food until her grandfather could pick her up.
Gurcsik said, “It could have been a tragic ending for another family or for this family — who we essentially helped Saturday night by taking him off the road.”
A manager for the Chick-fil-A restaurant in Turnersville declined to provide a comment to WTXF.
You can view a video report here about the incident.
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