The dad, Jason Behrens, 44, was taking his two children, Mackenzie, 14, and Ethan 12, from Nebraska to Colorado for a vacation. The children who were in the back seat of the car, later said this was not the first time their dad had driven them after consuming alcohol. But this time was different. The car was swerving and they could hear the swoosh of other vehicles as their father came close to them..
According to the kids, their dad’s rental car was swerving and there were several near misses. Mackenzie typed a text to 911 and she and Ethan agreed if there was another close call, they would notify police. The car then came close to hitting another vehicle head-on and Mackenzie hit “send.”
The kids talked Behrens into stopping at a Burger King to get something to eat. The real reason for wanting to stop was to prevent him from driving and to give police time to catch up with them. Police from Kearney, Nebraska arrived at the restaurant and despite the fact Behrens had told his son and daughter he was not drunk, he blew almost three times the legal limit of 0.08.
After police arrived, Behrens asked his kids if they texted the police and they admitted they did.
Behrens was arrested and charged with DUI and two counts of drunk driving with minors in the vehicle. Mackenzie later told the media the police discovered something in her father’s cup at Burger King.
While the incident occurred before Easter, the two children are now just speaking out about what happened. Both said if they could go back they would have done the same thing. Ethan said, “It was hard, but he pushed us to the point we had to.” Mackenzie added she lost all trust in her father.
Both children thanked police for “really, really,” saving their lives. The kids are now in the care of their mother, Amy Brooks, who picked them up. She described the drunk driving and what her children did to protect themselves as “bitter sweet.”
Kearney is located in Buffalo County. It is one of only two counties in Nebraska where people can text 911. The program has been running for about a year.
