Uncle charged with OWI, child endangerment after I-380 wreck

Children sticking their heads through a moving car's open sunroof may have contributed to an accident Sunday along Interstate 380, police said. Another possible factor: the driver was drunk.

Jeffrey E. Benton, 41, was driving south along Interstate 380 about 5:45 p.m. with his 7-year-old nephew and two 11-year-old nieces, police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said. While the niece in the front seat was belted in, the two children in the back seat weren't, and were  ”were standing up with their head out of the sunroof,” Hamblin wrote in an email.

While getting back into the car, one of the children fell forward onto the steering wheel, causing Benton to swerve and lose control near the J Avenue NE overpass. The vehicle went into the median and rolled.

After helping the children out of the car, Benton ran off but was apprehended nearby at J Avenue and Sierra Drive NE.

Benton, of 1917 K St. SW, remains in the Linn County Jail in lieu of $17,000 cash bail. He's charged with drunken driving, three counts of child endangerment, and leaving the scene of a personal-injury accident.

According to the complaint filed against him, Benton's blood-alcohol level was 0.202, nearly three times the legal limit.