Father Mistakenly Leaves Son Behind

A father and son were reunited Friday at a truck stop in Gorman after the father inadvertently left the boy behind after making a stop on a trip from Sacramento to Santa Ana, authorities said.

Jim Van Eck was making the trip south when he stopped at 5:45 a.m. at a service station at the Gorman exit of the Golden State Freeway, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy David Rawson. Van Eck’s 12-year-old son, Jason, who had been sleeping under a blanket in the back seat, woke up while the father was in the service station office and left the car to go to a restroom.

When the father came out of the service station, he thought his son was still asleep under the blanket and continued on his way to Santa Ana.

Rawson said it was not until Van Eck arrived at his destination and went to wake his son that he realized the boy wasn’t there. He immediately called the California Highway Patrol which connected him with sheriff’s deputies who had been called to the service station to take custody of Jason.

Rawson said Van Eck made it back to Gorman by 10:30 a.m. to pick up his son. He then had to turn around and drive back to Santa Ana.