PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — A Floyd County man is facing felony wanton endangerment and other charges, following an incident when he allegedly left a woman and her 5-month-old child on the side of a highway.
The woman showed up at Prestonsburg City Hall on Sunday, asking to speak with police. She said she and her child had been riding in a car with Michael Ousley, 43, of Auxier, to the Prestonsburg Village Shopping Center. She also described Ousley as acting agitated during the drive, saying she believed it was because of her getting a new job.
When they arrived at the shopping center, she was trying to get the baby out of its car seat, when she said Ousley made a sudden U-turn in the parking lot and began driving at a high rate of speed toward the Route 114.
The woman said she repeated asked Ousley to stop because the baby was unbuckled from the car seat, and that he eventually pulled over on the side of the road between Double Kwik and Archer Park.
Once stopped, she said he began trying to hit her. She said she then tried to flee the car and he grabbed her by the hair to stop her, hurting the baby in the struggle.
The woman said she was able to get away and a woman who followed their car after seeing what happened at the shopping center gave her a ride to the police station.
Ousley was later arrested outside his home. He has been charged with felony wanton endangerment, which is punishable by up to five years in prison. He is also facing misdemeanor assault charges and a number of traffic violations.
