Driver accused of dragging 9-year-old girl with SUV has history of DUI arrests, court docs reveal

DAYTON — Court documents reveal new information about a man accused of hitting a 9-year-old girl with his SUV and dragging her for nearly half a mile.

As Reported on News Center 7 at 11, Jeffrey Atkinson is accused of turning left into a crosswalk hitting a family of five, and dragging 9-year-old Ashley Escalante.

Escalante is recovering in the ICU at Dayton Children’s Hospital surrounded by family. She has lost part of her leg.

Atkinson was booked into Montgomery County Jail on charges of leaving the scene of an accident, operating a vehicle under the influence, and vehicular assault.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘We are broken;’ Family of girl who lost leg after being dragged by car wants justice

Charles M. Rowland has been A DUI and OVI attorney for 30 years.

Ohio State Highway Patrol numbers show they arrested almost 100,000 people for DUI and OVI in the last five years.

“A first offense OVI is punishable by a mandatory minimum of three days in jail or a weekend intervention program,” Rowland said.

He said 87% of the time, those who attend the three-day weekend intervention program do not reoffend.

But OSP data shows that 30 percent of OVI drivers arrested did it again.

Court documents showed that before his arrest earlier this month, Atkinson was arrested for a DUI or OVI in 1991 and 2022.

“There’s obviously a tragedy here, no one in the world wants to see anyone ever hurt by an impaired driver,” Rowland said. “But the mere accusation is just that, and our system is the best in the world because we uphold the idea that we are innocent until proven guilty.”

Atkinson will be in court next week.

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

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