A Washington man took three of his children out on a late night drive that ended up in a brief car chase, foot chase and the dad in custody.

On March 29, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Shykeem Lee Moore, 24, of Van Norden Street, after Moore refused to stop when a patrol division officer attempted to pull his vehicle over for driving erratically, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

Sgt. Ernest Moore (not related) radioed for backup when Shykeem Moore attempted to flee, turning from Flanders Filters Road onto Oscar Lane and accelerating through potholes in what the release said was a “reckless” manner.

Shykeem Moore drove behind a residence into a wooded area, jumped out of the vehicle before it came to a stop and fled on foot into the woods, said Maj. Kenneth Watson, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

When he fled into the woods, Shykeem Moore left his three children behind — the eldest, age 2 1/2, the other two, both under a year old, born of two different mothers — which Sgt. Moore discovered when he returned to the vehicle, Watson said.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee, though still in gear, had come to a natural stop after Shykeem Moore jumped out.

“It traveled a short distance and stopped at the wood line. No damage was reported to the vehicle,” Watson said.

Shykeem Moore surrendered, returning from the woods muddy and scratched up, after Sgt. Moore called him on his cell phone and asked him to return to the scene, said the release.

Shykeem Moore submitted to an Intoxilyzer test at the Magistrates’ Office and was charged with felony flee to elude arrest, resisting a public officer, driving while impaired and driving while license revoked.

Moore was held in the Beaufort County Detention Center on a $20,000 secured bond and the Department of Social Services was notified about the children.