An Uber driver in Sunrise, Florida, grew alarmed late one Friday night when a passenger who promised to “be right back” vanished, leaving her two toddlers strapped in his back seat for over two hours.
Emily Sabogal, 32, praised the ride with her 3- and 4-year-old kids on February 13, 2026. As per police statements, she canceled the ride by using the driver’s phone, giving him $10, and getting out around Northwest 50th Street and 108th Avenue. She told him she’d be back in minutes. But she didn’t.
The driver waited. He called her after an hour. She received the call and said she’d be back in 12 minutes, then disconnected the call and stopped responding. Thinking she was drunk, he noticed a cup with a smell of alcohol and her slurred speech, he called 911 around 11 p.m. The police found the kids hungry and thirsty but in high spirits. The driver had given them food and water while waiting.
A tweet from X.
Police tracked Sabogal down about 2.2 miles away, walking near a McDonald’s. Bodycam footage shows officers confronting her.
“You deserted your kids for two hours,”
One officer said. Sabogal, appearing disoriented, claimed her phone died and she had no way back. She spoke in Spanish at times, muttering “he thinks I’m stupid” about the driver.
The charges against her were child neglect without great bodily harm, a felony of neglecting to provide adequate care or supervision, and child desertion, abandoning children in a dangerous location with no intention of returning. The bond for each charge was $1,500, making the total bond $3,000. She posted the bond and was released.
Earlier that evening, Sabogal and the kids had been at a karate class, then a bar-restaurant like Bob G’s Wings N Things, where staff said she drank heavily while the children roamed unsupervised. The kids’ father told reporters this wasn’t her first erratic episode and plans to seek full custody.
“She needs to get help,”
he said.
Under Florida law, child neglect means putting kids at unreasonable risk by not providing basics like supervision, especially if capable of doing so. The penalty can result in up to five years in prison. Uber’s policy prohibits unaccompanied minors under 18 years old. The company emphasizes that drivers are not babysitters. Incidents such as this bring attention to a concern among the nation: rideshare services mean strangers, which can pose a danger of injury or trafficking to children left alone.
The Uber driver’s quick call to police likely prevented worse trouble. It underscores a key point parents must prioritize their children’s safety above all.
