TYLER, Texas — Editor's Note: The video above was published on Jan. 11, 2023
A Tyler man accused of leaving his 1-year-old daughter alone in her car seat on the side of the road while intoxicated in January has been indicted for child abandonment and endangerment.
Paul Hanna was arrested on Jan. 11 on charges of driving while intoxicated for a second time and child endangerment. Police said a cyclist found his baby sitting in a car seat on the roadside in the 5100 block of Rhones Quarter Road late on the night of Jan. 10.
According to Smith County judicial records, a Smith County grand jury handed down an indictment for abandonment/endangerment of a child, causing imminent danger against Hanna on March 23. This charge is a second-degree felony.
Hanna has been in the Smith County Jail since his arrest on bonds totaling $752,500, jail records show.
According to an arrest affidavit, after finding the baby, the cyclist went into a nearby home and called 9-1-1 from there.
After getting reviewed by EMS, officials determined the child just had a minor abrasion on her hand. She was later picked up by family members, the arrest affidavit said.
Police officers found Hanna at the CEFCO parking lot on Troup Highway. They determined Hanna was the child's father and the last person seen with the child.
The affidavit said Hanna initially told police that his 1-year-old daughter was at his home with a full-time nurse who was attending to his 4-year-old son.
The night nurse told police that Hanna lives with the two children and the nurse hadn't seen Hanna or the baby girl in three hours. Using photos of the child, the nurse was able to identify the child as Hanna's, the affidavit said.
While interviewing Hanna, police officers said he gave numerous conflicting accounts and found him "uncredible and intoxicated," the affidavit read.