A 31-year-old father from St. Johns County, Florida, has been arrested for an act so callous, it's almost hard to believe. According to authorities, Christopher Griffis allegedly kicked his 10-year-old son out of the family car, left him alone in a parking lot, and drove off — all because the boy had become carsick and threw up on himself.
Griffis did return, but only after the boy had been alone for 15 minutes -- which no doubt terrified the poor kid.
The incident might have gone unreported, had a FedEx driver not seen the incident go down. According to the driver, the father was seen cursing at the boy to "get the f*ck out" of the Kia Soul he was driving, which was also pulling a boat behind it.
Then he watched as the car took off, carrying Griffis and his three other children, who ranged in age from 1 to 7.
Luckily, the FedEx driver was able to get to the boy and called the local sheriff's department.
Griffis returned to the parking lot after police arrived, but by then he'd grown even more irate.
According to News 4 Jax, Griffis accused police of holding the 10-year-old hostage when they explained they were investigating the boy being left alone. That's when his other three children began to scream and cry from within the vehicle.
When one of the kids agreed to open a passenger door for the police officer, things escalated even more. Griffis reversed the car and hit his brakes, screeching his tires against the pavement. Then he sped up, nearly hit a curb, and sped right through a stop sign.
All the while, his 10-year-old was left standing with officers — yet again abandoned in the parking lot.
Police eventually caught up to Griffis, who was charged with four counts of child neglect and one count of resisting an officer without violence.
He was also slapped with a reckless driving charge after that erratic display in the parking lot.
Luckily, none of the children were harmed during the incident, but at least one neighbor painted a disturbing portrait of their home life.
“They’ll be playing and he’ll come out and start yelling at them and being hard on them,” neighbor Macy Bloomer told News 4 Jax.
According to court documents, Griffis' anger has landed him in trouble with the law before.
In fact, records show that multiple injunctions have been filed in the past against Griffis for repeated allegations of violence, and he has multiple convictions for battery.
Although Griffis remains out on $7,000 bail, it is not known who is caring for his children. Here's hoping they're safely in the care of relatives or friends — and that their father is held accountable for his actions.
