A 16-month-old boy was intentionally run over by his mother, resulting in several shattered bones and a collapsed lung, according to Florida investigators. The felony child abuse occurred on Monday, June 24, when the boy was being held by his father, according to a Polk County Sheriff’s Office news release.
The father was also attacked and sustained “bruising to his body and lungs,” according to officials. According to investigators, the couple was bickering at their Lake Wales home when the fight spilled out into the yard and became hazardous. ”
MOTHER ARRESTED IN HURRICANE for DEATH of 16-DAY-OLD INFANT Due to Severe Injuries
As the argument escalated … she placed two other small children (4 years old, and 6 months old) into her car, and got into the driver’s seat,” according to the deputy’s office. “The man picked up the infant and began to run away as (she) accelerated directly at the two victims, and ran over them before she crashed the vehicle into a trailer.”
The sheriff’s office released a video showing the man picking up the youngster while he sat directly in front of the car, and the vehicle pursued them as they ran into a yard. According to detectives, the 25-year-old father went to the hospital, while the mother returned the injured boy home “by himself” and drove away, officials added.
After realizing that the boy had been left alone, the father came to the house, picked him up, and drove him to the hospital, according to officials.
The youngster was in serious condition on June 25 with a “broken left shoulder and collar bone, multiple broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, and abrasions and bruising on his body,” according to officials. The mother was apprehended at her sister’s home in Orlando, and she informed investigators that her boyfriend was to blame for the injuries.
“(She) told a detective that there have been several times in the past that she has acted as if she was going to run over the man, but she would swerve at the last second to avoid hitting him,” according to the sheriff’s report. “She said she assumed that because of that, he would have moved out of the way in this instance, but he did not.” The other two youngsters who observed the crime were apprehended and are currently in the custody of the Florida Department of Youngsters and Families, authorities said.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, the 27-year-old suspect committed a “series of incredibly unthinkable choices” by failing to take the infant to the hospital and leaving him alone as per MiamiHerald
She is facing felony charges for aggravated child abuse, aggravated battery-domestic, and negligent child abuse, as well as misdemeanor charges for battery-domestic and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, according to officials. Lake Wales is around 60 miles east of Tampa.