MILWAUKEE (WITI) — A seven-month-old boy has died and his mother sustained serious injuries following a single-vehicle rollover crash. It happened shortly after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 18th near Appleton and Burleigh, and police suspect the baby’s mother was drunk at the time of the crash.
Witnesses tell police that an SUV was traveling eastbound on W. Appleton Avenue at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control of the car at W. Burleigh Street, causing the vehicle to strike a fence, a pole and a building, eventually turning onto its side.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s report on this crash and the death of the seven-month-old baby says when first responders arrived on scene, the vehicle was pinned against a utility pole at a 90-degree angle. The baby’s mother, a 22-year-old Milwaukee woman was pinned in the driver’s seat and she had to be extricated.
About 20 minutes into the extrication process, the Medical Examiner’s report says first responders noticed an infant car seat hanging upside down with an infant loosely hanging out of it. The baby was unresponsive. The report says the baby boy declined rapidly en route to Children’s Hospital, with obvious swelling to his head and abdomen.
The report says the baby’s mother was apparently unaware the infant was in the vehicle — and as she was transported to the hospital, the report says she was talking about how she was going to get to work in the morning.
The vehicle sustained “an enormous amount of damage” according to the Medical Examiner’s report, and several parts from the vehicle and concrete shards from the building were scattered at the scene. The baby’s car seat was found to have had a broken carrier handle. The report says when first responders extricated the baby’s mother, the car seat did not appear to be secured to the seat.
The baby’s mother is receiving treatment at the hospital for serious injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening. She is in police custody for homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle and operating after suspension, causing death.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the baby killed in this crash. He is identified as O’Ryan Shaw. He was pronounced dead at Children’s Hospital around 2:45 a.m. The baby’s cause of death has been determined to be blunt force injuries to his head.
The case will be presented to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office for charges against the mother in the coming days.