An infant critically injured in an early morning crash in Louisville’s Newburg neighborhood has died and his mother is facing multiple charges related to his death.
Louisville Metro police officers were called to a collision on Newburg Road and East Indian Trail just before 5:40 a.m. on Thursday, October 31. An arrest citation says a Dodge Dart caught fire after rear-ending a Ford Escape. Officers say when they arrived, a woman was outside of her vehicle holding a child. Her car was on fire.
Police said the woman driving the Dart, 18 year-old Lyillie Pena, of Louisville, had minor injuries, but the child, a three-month-old infant, was critically injured. Louisville Metro Police and EMS rushed the child to Norton Children’s Hospital where the infant died around 8:45 a.m.
The man driving the Escape told Louisville Metro Police officers he was breaking at a red light when he saw a car “barreling toward him.” The collision sent the Escape into the grass center median.
The escape driver told police he was on the phone with a 911 call taker when Pena, who was holding her child, came up to his car and told him her car was on fire. The man told officers Pena had glossy eyes, her breath smelled of alcohol, she was unsteady on her feet and was aggressive.
When asked about the alcohol, the arrest citation say Pena said she had drank 99 proof alcohol around 10 p.m. the night before. She also admitted to taking Adderall.
Pena was arrested on charges of vehicular homicide, aggravated DUI, wanton endangerment and criminal mischief and booked into Louisville Metro Corrections. During the booking process, metro police obtained search warrants to draw blood from Pena. The arrest reports says a blood alcohol test returned a reading of .039.
Pena is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday, November 1.
Source: WAVE
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