All too often, people will act first without considering the legal and criminal consequences that can come from driving recklessly and taking other unwise actions. It’s especially sad when a child is hurt as a result of someone else’s negligence. Laws exist to hold people liable for injuring others, and also to hopefully discourage them from making irresponsible decisions in the first place. Unfortunately, these laws don’t always prevent injuries and accidents.
A 24-year-old woman was arrested on kidnapping charges and could face additional charges, after a car crash in Dodge County resulted in serious injuries to her 4-year-old daughter. The circumstances leading up to the accident were strange and sad, as the little girl had been in child protective custody. Somehow the child’s mother was able to get ahold of the girl, and fled in her vehicle.
Authorities had placed the vehicle and the subjects on a child abduction alert. It’s unknown what caused the auto accident, but the little girl was ejected from the car and hospitalized at Medical Center of Central Georgia with a skull fracture. A man was also hospitalized in critical condition with several broken bones, but police haven’t released details on his involvement in the accident.
Since the mother didn’t have legal custody of the child at the time of the crash, she may be held responsible for her daughter’s medical expenses to those who had been caring for her. Additionally, it wouldn’t be surprising if the man who was injured, or his family, were to seek compensation.
Source: 41 NBC, “Levi’s Call Victim in Stable Condition After Car Accident, Mother in Jail,” Amanda Castro, May 17, 2013
