Florida Uber Eats Driver Left Special-Needs Son Behind on Interstate but Kept Delivering to Protect His App Rating, Police Say
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLORIDA — A 35-year-old Florida father delivering food for Uber Eats allegedly left his special-needs son alone — later found running naked on the interstate — but continued making deliveries so his driver rating wouldn’t drop, police say.
Jeremy Jaron Rouse, of Altamonte Springs, was arrested and charged with child cruelty after officers said he ignored the disappearance of his nonverbal autistic son while out on a delivery route on October 16.
Child Found Running Naked on Interstate
According to a police affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, an Altamonte Springs Police officer responded to a call just after 11 p.m. reporting a naked child running on an I-4 on-ramp.
When officers arrived, a bystander was already chasing after the boy — grabbing him just before he entered oncoming traffic. The child appeared nonverbal and unable to communicate, prompting officers to initiate a missing child search.
Minutes later, dispatch received a 911 call from a woman reporting a missing juvenile matching the same description — the caller turned out to be the boy’s father’s companion.
Dad Continued Deliveries Instead of Searching for His Son
Police said Rouse and the woman had been delivering Uber Eats orders together, with the boy sitting in the back seat. The woman told officers she fell asleep around 9:30 p.m. and woke up two hours later to discover the child was gone.
When she asked Rouse where her son was, he allegedly appeared “shocked,” claiming he “thought the child was still sleeping.”
Despite realizing the boy was missing, Rouse continued driving and making deliveries, later admitting to officers that he didn’t want to hurt his Uber Eats performance rating.
“[Rouse] admitted that instead of immediately returning to search for the child, he continued his delivery route… despite knowing the autistic, nonverbal child was missing,” police wrote in the report.
Rouse’s companion told police she begged him to turn around, but he refused, fearing he’d “be blamed for the incident.” She eventually got out and went to meet officers at a nearby Walgreens, arriving nearly an hour later — without Rouse.
Police Find Rouse Hours Later at Wawa
At around 3:30 a.m., officers found Rouse at a Wawa gas station, where he asked to speak with law enforcement. He confessed that he had completed his Uber Eats delivery before going to look for his son.
He said he didn’t immediately return because he was worried about getting arrested and didn’t want his delivery rating to go down.
Authorities say the woman later recanted parts of her story, and investigators recommended that she also face charges for child cruelty and perjury for lying about the events.
Arrest and Court Appearance
Rouse was booked into the Seminole County Jail and later released on a $5,000 bond. He’s due in court for his arraignment on December 2.
Police say the child, who was found uninjured, is now in protective care as the investigation continues.
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