Man Caught Street Racing In Marathon With 5-year-old In Car, Cops Say 2 Jailed

Deputies in the Florida Keys arrested two men for street racing along U.S. 1 in Marathon Friday evening, authorities said. One of them, they said, had a child in the car.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, deputies saw Nissan and Chevrolet sedans racing near 89th Street at around 7 p.m., going roughly 80 mph, and stopped both cars.

MCSO spokesperson Adam Linhardt said one of the participants, Michael Alvin Joseph Taute, had a 5-year-old with him in the car - and not in a car seat.

He said that led deputies to arrest Taute, 38, on a felony child neglect charge in addition to a misdemeanor street racing charge. Deputies turned the child over to a family member.

The 19-year-old he was racing with, Yunielkis Junior De Leon, was arrested on a misdemeanor street racing charge, Linhardt said.