‘Just couldn’t believe it;” Man describes tracking down driver accused of hitting, dragging girl

DAYTON — A man helped police track down a drunk driver accused of seriously injuring a 9-year-old.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 11, Thomas Strange was sitting in a Family Dollar parking lot when he saw 9-year-old Ashley Escalante get hit by a car and heard her family scream for help.

He said he put his car in drive and took off after the driver.

“He actually just floored the car, he gassed his car as fast as he could down the road,” Strange said. “People were in the road so I was like ‘Which way did he go?’ Everybody was so helpful and pointing in the direction.”

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While on the phone with 911, Strange caught up with a car that police said belonged to Jeffrey Atkinson.

“So he started driving a little erratic and then he realized that I wasn’t gonna get off his tail and he started driving normal and he drove all the way to his bar,” Strange said.

Atkinson owns Cowboys Lido Bar— about 10 minutes from the crash scene.

“He got out of the car and I could tell he was drunk, he was staggering,” Strange said. “So I backed my truck up so that he couldn’t get out or leave the scene.”

When police arrived, Atkinson walked out of his bar.

“He was like ‘You got me! Yeah sorry, sorry’ like it was no big deal, like he didn’t do anything wrong and I just couldn’t believe it,” Strange said.

Dayton police body camera footage shows Atkinson’s strange behavior.

“I’ll admit it, I’m drunk,” he tells officers.

Strange said this was mind-boggling to him.

“How are you gonna be so calm and normal about something when you just ran people over,” he said.

News Center 7 has reached out to Escalante’s family for an update on her condition.

Atkinson is currently in Montgomery County Jail facing several felonies.

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