‘I’m drunk;’ Body camera shows arrest of driver accused of dragging 9-year-old with SUV

DAYTON — New body camera video shows the arrest of the man police say hit and dragged a 9-year-old girl.

Jeffrey Atkinson, 55, appeared in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday morning. The judge set his bond at $250.000.

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Atkinson has been accused of turning left into a crosswalk on Wayne Avenue, hitting 9-year-old Ashley Escalante, and dragging her for nearly a half mile last month. Escalante remains in the hospital and investigators say she lost one leg and may lose the other.

Newly obtained body camera video shows Dayton Police walk up to Atkinson in the parking lot of Cowboy Lido’s Bar. Several other people pointed officers in his direction, including some who followed him after the crash and were yelling at him.

“I hope you go to jail for a long time, buddy,” one person said in the video.

As shown on News Center 7 at 5:00, officers hustled Atkinson away from an upset crowd, taking him to Miami Valley Hospital right after his arrest. There, they tried to administer a sobriety test.

In the video, Atkinson gave them a very ironic excuse as to why he might not perform well in the test.

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“I got in a serious motorcycle accident,” he said. “I got hit head-on by a drunk driver.”

Atkinson claimed he had metal in his arm and leg, but that didn’t explain why he staggered several times and struggled even to stand upright.

“You know what? (Expletive) it, I’m drunk,” he said. “I’ll admit it. I own a bar.”

Atkinson faces child endangering, aggravated vehicular assault, OVI, among other charges. He remains booked in the Montgomery County Jail.

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