In Heartbreaking 911 Call, Child Says Father Driving While Drunk
"He's driving really fast. ... I think I'm going to get into a wreck," she said.
— -- A harrowing 911 audio recording has been released by authorities in Georgia today of a young child hysterically crying for help as she tells a dispatcher that she is riding in a car being driven by her allegedly drunk father.
"Hello, is this 911? ... The only person that's here is my dad and he's drunk. My dad is drunk," the 9-year-old can be heard telling the 911 dispatcher. "Help me, please! Help me!"
In the 17-minute 911 call made Sunday around 4 p.m., the little girl told the dispatcher that she was traveling in St. Simons Island, Georgia, with her father behind the wheel. Police said a younger sister was also in the car.
The little girl said she was from Atlanta, nearly four hours away, and that she thought her father was trying to take her to her grandparents' house. At times, on the recording, she was so upset and terrified that the dispatcher could not make out what she was saying.
"I don't know where we're going. He's driving really fast. ... I think I'm going to get into a wreck," she says. "I think I'm going to get into a wreck and kill myself. ... I don't know where I am right now. Daddy, stop the friggin car! Stop the car. Pull over somewhere!"
As the dispatcher tried to locate the vehicle, the 9-year-old was able to calm down and recall her grandparents' address. The dispatcher was able to direct police officers to the house, where they found the girls, their father and the car.
In a police report, officers identified the father as 36-year-old Wesley Burgner and said he was "visibly intoxicated." Police said he'd been drinking along the way from Atlanta to St. Simons Island.
"Wesley had slurred, slowed speech, had trouble standing, had trouble formulating sentences, stumbled when he walked and smelled of an alcoholic beverage," the police report said. "Wesley admitted he had been driving."
He was arrested and taken to the Glynn County Detention Center. Burgner faces charges including DUI, endangering a child/DUI and driving on a suspended license.