South Alabama woman charged in fiery crash that killed toddler, injured 6 others
A south Alabama woman has been charged in a deadly crash that killed a 2-year-old in her vehicle and injured five other children.
Sarah Emily Janes, 31, of Atmore, is charged with reckless murder and two counts of first-degree assault.
Janes was taken into custody Friday in Escambia County in Florida and now is being held without bond in the Escambia County Jail in Alabama.
Charging documents state Janes was driving under the influence. Additional details weren’t immediately available.
The wreck happened shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, on U.S. 31, about one mile west of Atmore.
ALEA Sr. Trooper Joshua Thompson said the 2-year-old was a passenger in a Cadillac SRX that collided head-on with a Chrysler Pacific.
The toddler died Saturday. The child’s name and relationship to Janes has not been released.
Janes was driving the Cadillac. She was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, and a 4-year-old passenger in her vehicle was also injured and hospitalized.
The driver of the Chrysler van, 38-year-old Brittany N. Colley of Mobile, and her four children – ages 15, 12, 9 and 6 – were also taken to the hospital with varying degrees of injury.
A GoFundMe for the Colley family said the van caught fire after the collision.