Topline: Authorities say an Uber driver waited with two toddlers for over two hours after their mother allegedly canceled the ride and walked away.
Published: February 20, 2026 12:00 pm ET
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Screenshot of bodycam footage via Sunrise Police Dept.
SUNRISE, FL — Newly released police body camera footage shows the tense moments Sunrise officers confronted a mother accused of leaving her two young children inside an Uber for more than two hours Friday night.
Emily Sabogal, 32, was arrested on charges of neglect of a child without great bodily harm and desertion of a child, authorities said. She later posted bond and was released from jail.
According to an arrest report cited by NBC Miami, the incident began around 11 p.m. when an Uber driver called 911 from the 10800 block of Northwest 50th Street. The driver told police that Sabogal had left her two children — ages 3 and 4 — in his vehicle after abruptly canceling the ride and walking away.
The driver said he picked up Sabogal and her children at a shopping plaza along West Commercial Boulevard and noticed she was holding a cup he believed contained liquor. He told officers she appeared intoxicated and continued drinking in the car. In bodycam footage referenced by CBS Miami, the driver hands officers a cup left behind by Sabogal and says, “She left this. Smell it, it’s rum.”
Investigators said Sabogal reached over the center console, grabbed the driver’s phone and canceled the ride before giving him $10 in cash and directing him to stop near Northwest 108th Avenue and 50th Street, according to WPLG. She allegedly told the driver she would return in three minutes, then exited the vehicle and disappeared into a nearby lot.
About an hour later, the driver called Sabogal, who told him she would return in 12 minutes before hanging up, according to the arrest report. After additional calls went unanswered, he contacted police — more than two hours after she had walked away.
Body camera video shows officers arriving to find the driver still parked with the two toddlers in the back seat. “And you’ve been here for how long?” an officer asks in footage aired by CBS Miami.
“More than two hours,” the driver replies.
Officers noted the children appeared to be in good health and spirits but told police they were hungry and thirsty, according to WPLG.
In one clip reported by NBC Miami, an officer asks the driver, “You said you think she was drunk?”
“She was drunk,” the driver responds.
Another officer is heard explaining the situation to colleagues: “No clue where she is right now, just left the kids, obviously she doesn’t know this gentleman, he’s just an Uber driver, and walked off.”
Police later located Sabogal walking near a McDonald’s about 2.2 miles away from where she left her children, according to WPLG and NBC Miami. Bodycam footage shows officers confronting her.
“You have two kids? Were you just in an Uber with your two kids?” an officer asks. “You just left your kids with an Uber and we’re all over town looking for you.”
“My phone died,” Sabogal responds.
“You left your kids for two hours, it’s been over two hours,” the officer says.
Sabogal tells officers she was going home and that “my situation’s a little bit complicated,” according to NBC Miami. In footage cited by WPLG, she says, “I don’t have a car. My kids were with me earlier. They were at karate and now they’re in an Uber.”
“That Uber driver has been waiting with your kids for the past two hours,” the officer tells her. “Why did you get out of the Uber?”
“I have to make s— happen for both of them. I know it sounds stupid right now but I don’t have a car,” Sabogal says. “My kids are everything to me.”
As officers press her for answers, Sabogal adds, “I have not done anything wrong, I have no idea what is going on, I’m sorry, I get what you, I get your job, I get your whole persona, I get it.” At another point she says, “I don’t know what’s going on right now.”
“What’s going on is you deserted your kids for two hours, that’s what’s going on,” an officer responds, according to CBS Miami. “That Uber driver’s been sitting with your kids waiting for you to come back for the past two hours.”
The arrest report states Sabogal had the smell of alcohol on her breath, slurred speech and made multiple incoherent statements, according to NBC Miami and CBS Miami. At one point, according to WPLG, she repeatedly said in Spanish, “He thinks I’m stupid.”
Investigators also learned Sabogal had been at Bob G’s Wings N’ Things on Commercial Boulevard earlier that evening with her children, where staff told officers she consumed multiple alcoholic beverages while the children ran around unsupervised, according to WPLG and NBC Miami. Employees described her as a regular customer who visits approximately five days a week, the report states.
The children’s father told WPLG over the weekend that he is “very concerned for the safety of my children” and said he plans to seek full custody, adding that this is not the first time Sabogal has shown erratic behavior.
Sabogal was charged with one count of child neglect and two counts of desertion of a child, according to CBS Miami. She appeared in court Sunday morning, where her bond was set at $1,500 for each charge, NBC Miami reported. She was later released after posting a total $3,000 bond.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Authorities say an Uber driver waited with two toddlers for over two hours after their mother allegedly canceled the ride and walked away.
By Jacob Charles
Published: February 20, 2026 12:00 pm ET
Screenshot of bodycam footage via Sunrise Police Dept.
SUNRISE, FL — Newly released police body camera footage shows the tense moments Sunrise officers confronted a mother accused of leaving her two young children inside an Uber for more than two hours Friday night.
Emily Sabogal, 32, was arrested on charges of neglect of a child without great bodily harm and desertion of a child, authorities said. She later posted bond and was released from jail.
According to an arrest report cited by NBC Miami, the incident began around 11 p.m. when an Uber driver called 911 from the 10800 block of Northwest 50th Street. The driver told police that Sabogal had left her two children — ages 3 and 4 — in his vehicle after abruptly canceling the ride and walking away.
The driver said he picked up Sabogal and her children at a shopping plaza along West Commercial Boulevard and noticed she was holding a cup he believed contained liquor. He told officers she appeared intoxicated and continued drinking in the car. In bodycam footage referenced by CBS Miami, the driver hands officers a cup left behind by Sabogal and says, “She left this. Smell it, it’s rum.”
Investigators said Sabogal reached over the center console, grabbed the driver’s phone and canceled the ride before giving him $10 in cash and directing him to stop near Northwest 108th Avenue and 50th Street, according to WPLG. She allegedly told the driver she would return in three minutes, then exited the vehicle and disappeared into a nearby lot.
About an hour later, the driver called Sabogal, who told him she would return in 12 minutes before hanging up, according to the arrest report. After additional calls went unanswered, he contacted police — more than two hours after she had walked away.
Body camera video shows officers arriving to find the driver still parked with the two toddlers in the back seat. “And you’ve been here for how long?” an officer asks in footage aired by CBS Miami.
“More than two hours,” the driver replies.
Officers noted the children appeared to be in good health and spirits but told police they were hungry and thirsty, according to WPLG.
In one clip reported by NBC Miami, an officer asks the driver, “You said you think she was drunk?”
“She was drunk,” the driver responds.
Another officer is heard explaining the situation to colleagues: “No clue where she is right now, just left the kids, obviously she doesn’t know this gentleman, he’s just an Uber driver, and walked off.”
Police later located Sabogal walking near a McDonald’s about 2.2 miles away from where she left her children, according to WPLG and NBC Miami. Bodycam footage shows officers confronting her.
“You have two kids? Were you just in an Uber with your two kids?” an officer asks. “You just left your kids with an Uber and we’re all over town looking for you.”
“My phone died,” Sabogal responds.
“You left your kids for two hours, it’s been over two hours,” the officer says.
Sabogal tells officers she was going home and that “my situation’s a little bit complicated,” according to NBC Miami. In footage cited by WPLG, she says, “I don’t have a car. My kids were with me earlier. They were at karate and now they’re in an Uber.”
“That Uber driver has been waiting with your kids for the past two hours,” the officer tells her. “Why did you get out of the Uber?”
“I have to make s— happen for both of them. I know it sounds stupid right now but I don’t have a car,” Sabogal says. “My kids are everything to me.”
As officers press her for answers, Sabogal adds, “I have not done anything wrong, I have no idea what is going on, I’m sorry, I get what you, I get your job, I get your whole persona, I get it.” At another point she says, “I don’t know what’s going on right now.”
“What’s going on is you deserted your kids for two hours, that’s what’s going on,” an officer responds, according to CBS Miami. “That Uber driver’s been sitting with your kids waiting for you to come back for the past two hours.”
The arrest report states Sabogal had the smell of alcohol on her breath, slurred speech and made multiple incoherent statements, according to NBC Miami and CBS Miami. At one point, according to WPLG, she repeatedly said in Spanish, “He thinks I’m stupid.”
Investigators also learned Sabogal had been at Bob G’s Wings N’ Things on Commercial Boulevard earlier that evening with her children, where staff told officers she consumed multiple alcoholic beverages while the children ran around unsupervised, according to WPLG and NBC Miami. Employees described her as a regular customer who visits approximately five days a week, the report states.
The children’s father told WPLG over the weekend that he is “very concerned for the safety of my children” and said he plans to seek full custody, adding that this is not the first time Sabogal has shown erratic behavior.
Sabogal was charged with one count of child neglect and two counts of desertion of a child, according to CBS Miami. She appeared in court Sunday morning, where her bond was set at $1,500 for each charge, NBC Miami reported. She was later released after posting a total $3,000 bond.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Florida Mother Accused of Leaving Toddlers in Uber for Over Two Hours, Bodycam Shows
Authorities say an Uber driver waited with two toddlers for over two hours after their mother allegedly canceled the ride and walked away.
By Jacob Charles
Published: February 20, 2026 12:00 pm ET
Screenshot of bodycam footage via Sunrise Police Dept.
SUNRISE, FL — Newly released police body camera footage shows the tense moments Sunrise officers confronted a mother accused of leaving her two young children inside an Uber for more than two hours Friday night.
Emily Sabogal, 32, was arrested on charges of neglect of a child without great bodily harm and desertion of a child, authorities said. She later posted bond and was released from jail.
According to an arrest report cited by NBC Miami, the incident began around 11 p.m. when an Uber driver called 911 from the 10800 block of Northwest 50th Street. The driver told police that Sabogal had left her two children — ages 3 and 4 — in his vehicle after abruptly canceling the ride and walking away.
The driver said he picked up Sabogal and her children at a shopping plaza along West Commercial Boulevard and noticed she was holding a cup he believed contained liquor. He told officers she appeared intoxicated and continued drinking in the car. In bodycam footage referenced by CBS Miami, the driver hands officers a cup left behind by Sabogal and says, “She left this. Smell it, it’s rum.”
Investigators said Sabogal reached over the center console, grabbed the driver’s phone and canceled the ride before giving him $10 in cash and directing him to stop near Northwest 108th Avenue and 50th Street, according to WPLG. She allegedly told the driver she would return in three minutes, then exited the vehicle and disappeared into a nearby lot.
About an hour later, the driver called Sabogal, who told him she would return in 12 minutes before hanging up, according to the arrest report. After additional calls went unanswered, he contacted police — more than two hours after she had walked away.
Body camera video shows officers arriving to find the driver still parked with the two toddlers in the back seat. “And you’ve been here for how long?” an officer asks in footage aired by CBS Miami.
“More than two hours,” the driver replies.
Officers noted the children appeared to be in good health and spirits but told police they were hungry and thirsty, according to WPLG.
In one clip reported by NBC Miami, an officer asks the driver, “You said you think she was drunk?”
“She was drunk,” the driver responds.
Another officer is heard explaining the situation to colleagues: “No clue where she is right now, just left the kids, obviously she doesn’t know this gentleman, he’s just an Uber driver, and walked off.”
Police later located Sabogal walking near a McDonald’s about 2.2 miles away from where she left her children, according to WPLG and NBC Miami. Bodycam footage shows officers confronting her.
“You have two kids? Were you just in an Uber with your two kids?” an officer asks. “You just left your kids with an Uber and we’re all over town looking for you.”
“My phone died,” Sabogal responds.
“You left your kids for two hours, it’s been over two hours,” the officer says.
Sabogal tells officers she was going home and that “my situation’s a little bit complicated,” according to NBC Miami. In footage cited by WPLG, she says, “I don’t have a car. My kids were with me earlier. They were at karate and now they’re in an Uber.”
“That Uber driver has been waiting with your kids for the past two hours,” the officer tells her. “Why did you get out of the Uber?”
“I have to make s— happen for both of them. I know it sounds stupid right now but I don’t have a car,” Sabogal says. “My kids are everything to me.”
As officers press her for answers, Sabogal adds, “I have not done anything wrong, I have no idea what is going on, I’m sorry, I get what you, I get your job, I get your whole persona, I get it.” At another point she says, “I don’t know what’s going on right now.”
“What’s going on is you deserted your kids for two hours, that’s what’s going on,” an officer responds, according to CBS Miami. “That Uber driver’s been sitting with your kids waiting for you to come back for the past two hours.”
The arrest report states Sabogal had the smell of alcohol on her breath, slurred speech and made multiple incoherent statements, according to NBC Miami and CBS Miami. At one point, according to WPLG, she repeatedly said in Spanish, “He thinks I’m stupid.”
Investigators also learned Sabogal had been at Bob G’s Wings N’ Things on Commercial Boulevard earlier that evening with her children, where staff told officers she consumed multiple alcoholic beverages while the children ran around unsupervised, according to WPLG and NBC Miami. Employees described her as a regular customer who visits approximately five days a week, the report states.
The children’s father told WPLG over the weekend that he is “very concerned for the safety of my children” and said he plans to seek full custody, adding that this is not the first time Sabogal has shown erratic behavior.
Sabogal was charged with one count of child neglect and two counts of desertion of a child, according to CBS Miami. She appeared in court Sunday morning, where her bond was set at $1,500 for each charge, NBC Miami reported. She was later released after posting a total $3,000 bond.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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