WICHITA FALLS ( KFDX/KJTL ) — Two Wichita Falls parents are charged with four counts of child endangerment after a deputy stops a car and finds four children inside crying hysterically, their father legally intoxicated and the children’s mother left behind down the road.

Lisa and William Blassingame are charged with child endangerment and William Blassingame is also charged with DWI, enhanced with previous convictions.

The deputy was sent to investigate a reported disturbance in a moving vehicle on FM 369 at about 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 29.

He said he found the GMC Yukon near Arena Road, pulled it over and found the four children crying.

The driver told the deputy he had put his wife out of the car on Business 287 because she kept trying to grab the steering wheel while he was driving. The deputy said Blassingame had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and that Blassingame confirmed he had been drinking.

A breath sample was taken and showed he was over the limit, and the deputy arrested him, then located his wife, Lisa, about 20 minutes later.

One of the girls in the vehicle told the deputy that after their father left their mother behind, he sped off at a very high rate, scaring her and her sisters.

Child Protective Services was called to the scene to take possession of the children.

Blassingame’s DWI charge is enhanced with previous convictions, and state records show he has a previous conviction in Fort Worth for DWI with a child passenger under age 15.

This is a developing story. Stick with Texoma’s Homepage for updates as more information becomes available. All individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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