After a woman got out of her car in the middle of Texas 121 on Saturday night to escape her boyfriend, the man grabbed her 5-year-old son, held him over his head and shook him before pushing him into traffic, Grapevine police said Monday.
Motorists slowed to avoid hitting the child, who was found uninjured by officers responding to numerous 911 calls.
One caller told a dispatcher, "A guy has some lady's baby, and the baby got thrown in the middle of the highway," according to a 911 tape released Monday afternoon. "She's freaking out."
On the tape, the sound of screeching tires can be heard as a van strikes the car, and a woman can be heard screaming.
Michael Jerome Walker, 22, of Fort Worth, was in the Grapevine City Jail on Monday with bail set at $15,260.
He faces a charge of endangering a child. He also faces charges of making a terroristic threat and assault based on the woman's complaint that he punched her and threatened to kill her, police said.
After Walker was arrested, authorities found that he was named in eight unrelated warrants issued in Fort Worth and three from Euless.
Boy's mom 'exited the car, looking for help'
Walker's girlfriend, a 24-year-old Lewisville woman, told police that she was driving Walker home Saturday night when they began to argue. Walker was upset because he believed that she was helping police to get him arrested, police said.
The woman told police that Walker told her son: "Mommy is about to go to sleep and not wake up. I'm about to make Mommy go to sleep."
He then punched her, the woman told police.
"She was trying to find a place to pull off and stop, but she couldn't, so she just stopped her car in the middle of the highway," Grapevine police Lt. Todd Dearing said Monday. "She exited the car, looking for help."
The 911 calls started coming about 11 p.m. Saturday from the 100 block of Texas 121 in Grapevine just north of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
Walker also got out of the car, grabbed the boy and stood on the side of the highway, holding him in the air, witnesses told police.
They told police that Walker shook the boy violently, but the youngster managed to escape. Then Walker pushed the boy into traffic, witnesses said.
About the same time, a van crashed into the car, which was still in the highway, according to police reports.
No injuries were reported.
Officers believe that Walker had been drinking, according to a report.
DOMINGO RAMIREZ JR., 817-390-7763
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