GULFPORT (AP) — A man piled his wife and baby boy into a car to escape a hurricane barreling toward Texas last year and headed for Atlanta. They never made it.

The Sun Herald reports , 26-year-old Rodolfo Ortuno, of Houston was pulled over in Mississippi by a deputy for careless driving. Court documents say the deputy then searched the car and found 7 kilos (15.4 pounds) of cocaine in the trunk.

Ortuno pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking charge Friday. He faces a possible life sentence and maximum fine of $10 million. Sentencing is set for April.

He told authorities he was to be paid $7,000 for driving the vehicle to Atlanta.

Ortuno was arrested Aug. 24, 2017, a day before Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas Gulf Coast.