A freak accident involving two drunk drivers that left a five-month old girl dead is sending one woman to prison and leaving a grandmother with a criminal record.
Police say both 26-year old Shauntae Marie Hill of Akron and 37-year old Lynnette Hayward were legally drunk when their cars crashed. Hayward was taking her granddaughter home early in the morning of August 29, 2010 but failed to properly secure the baby in her child safety seat. The impact of the crash threw the infant from the back seat and under the front passenger seat, killing her.
Hill was sentenced to six years in prison with a lifetime driver's license suspension. Hayward was sentenced to three days in jail followed by a month of house arrest, two years community control and a six-month license suspension.
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(Summit County Prosecutor) Judge Elinore Stormer sentenced Shauntae Marie Hill, 26, of Adrus Street in Akron, to six years in prison and a lifetime driver’s license suspension for her role in a car crash in which both drivers were drunk that left an infant dead. Judge Stormer sentenced the baby’s grandmother, Lynnette Hayward, 37, of Bellevue Avenue in Akron, to three days in jail, two years of community control, 30 days of house arrest and a six-month driver’s license suspension.
Early in the morning of August 29, 2010, Hayward picked up her five-month-old granddaughter from the home of a relative. Hayward was intoxicated after a night of drinking and failed to properly strap the baby into her car seat or secure the car seat in the car.
As Hayward drove home, her car was struck by a vehicle driven by Hill. Hill was also drunk at the time and traveling between 52 and 62 miles per hour. She ran from the scene of the accident and was found a few blocks away, bleeding from the face. Her blood was found on the driver-side airbag. The force of the impact threw the baby from the car seat and under the front passenger seat, killing her.
On April 17, a jury found Hayward guilty of Child Endangering, a felony of the third degree, and Operating Under the Influence, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Hill was found guilty of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, a felony of the first degree; Involuntary Manslaughter, a felony of the third degree; and Operating Under the Influence, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
