Baby fatally injured in late-night Muncie Bypass crash; driver arrested for DWI
MUNCIE, Ind. — A 1-year-old Muncie boy died Thursday in an Indianapolis hospital, about 12 hours after he had been critically injured in a head-on crash on the Muncie Bypass.
According to Jeff Stanley, chief deputy of the Delaware County Sheriff's Department, the toddler and his 24-year-old mother were passengers in a Jeep Compass driven by Jayden Lamarr Vance, a 20-year-old Muncie resident, that collided with another SUV at the intersection with Cowan Road shortly before midnight Wednesday.
In an affidavit, a deputy reported that in the wake of the crash, the boy was displaying "no response to verbal or physical stimuli."
The child was taken, accompanied by his mother, by ambulance to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, and was later flown by medical helicopter to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, where he was pronounced dead shortly before noon.
According to Stanley, the second vehicle involved in the crash, also a Jeep Compass, had been eastbound on the bypass and had a green light to turn north on Cowan Road.
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At that point, Vance's vehicle "failed to the yield right of way," leading to the head-on collision, the chief deputy said.
The second vehicle was driven by a 29-year-old woman who reported she was five months pregnant. She was being treated for "lower body injuries," according to an affidavit, and was also taken to the Muncie hospital, Her male passenger — reported at the scene to be having "breathing issues" — was also hospitalized.
Deputies said Vance at first tried to persuade them he had not been in either of the damaged vehicles, insisting he had stopped at the crash scene in an effort to help the victims.
Investigators said the Muncie man was wearing one shoe, and a matching shoe was found on the floorboard of the SUV that had also carried the injured toddler and his mother.
A deputy reported Vance smelled of an alcoholic beverage and had "bloodshot, watery eyes," and became "very angered" when told he could not leave the scene and go home.
The affidavit indicated Vance eventually admitted to driving the SUV, and said the young child injured was his nephew.
A breath test measured Vance's blood alcohol content at 0.161. In Indiana, mostorists with a BAC of 0.08 or higher are considered intoxicated. At the hospital, blood samples were taken from both drivers, standard procedure in the wake of crashes resulting in serious injuries.
Vance — treated for a laceration suffered in the crash — was arrested on preliminary counts of driving while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury and neglect of a dependent. He was being held in the Delaware County jail on Thursday under a $57,500 bond.
The Delaware County prosecutor's office will determine what formal charges will be filed.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Driver arrested for DWI after Muncie Bypass crash fatally injures baby
