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‘I need help’: 12-year-old calls 911 while dad drives drunk

Emergency dispatchers and California Highway Patrol stopped an alleged drunk driver after his son called 911 from the car asking for help.

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The child, identified only as Ayden, called 911 on Oct. 26 after his father picked him up from a birthday party in Los Angeles and said they were driving to Las Vegas, KTLA reported.

“I need help … my dad is trying to take me to Vegas. He’s acting weird,” Ayden told one of the dispatchers on the phone, KTLA reported.

On the recorded call, Ayden can be heard telling the dispatcher the type of car his father is driving, and some of the letters and numbers from the car’s license plate, KABC reported.

“Everything was kind of hectic,” dispatcher April Gingras told KABC. “We’re trying to get officers in position. We’re trying to get the information to everybody.”

Dispatchers stayed on the phone with the 12-year-old for more than an hour, as his father was driving “recklessly” on the freeway, KTLA reported.

When officers had trouble finding the vehicle in heavy traffic, a dispatcher asked Ayden to stick his hand out of the car, which allowed officers to find them, KABC reported. When the car pulled over, the father was wearing a Las Vegas Raiders football helmet, police told the station.

The father, who was not identified, was charged with DUI and child endangerment, KTLA reported. Ayden was returned home safely.

“We did a great thing,” dispatcher Laurie Watson told KABC. “And we’re just happy.”