Suspect Accused of Abandoning Kids After Alleged DUI Crash has Extensive Criminal History

31 year old Rafael Cortez has been arrested seven times for DUI, convicted of the crime five times. He’s also been convicted of felony domestic violence and deported to Mexico twice.

A cousin of the children tells Eyewitness News one of the kids had pleaded for her dad to slow down moments before the crash happened. 

All four children, ages 7 to 13, are home safe with their mother.  The mother says she filed a restraining order against Cortez in early 2015, after he stabbed her with pruning shears and threatened to kill her.  Cortez was court ordered to stay away from her and their kids.  on Wednesday, he broke the law and picked the kids up from his mother’s house, who was spending time with her grandkids. That’s when the wreck occurred.

One child suffered a broken wrist and a leg injury.  Another suffered a head wound.

A family member says the kids were stuck in the car yelling for their dad to help them out, but he had already fled the scene.