Posted on 08/22/2006 1:05:51 PM PDT by WestTexasWend
Police think alcohol, speeding were factors in midnight crash.
(Austin) - Police say Susan Marie Roten was driving 84 mph in a 55-mph zone in Southwest Austin with her four children early Saturday when her vehicle struck a Ford Explorer, rolled several times and left her month-old son dying in a rocky median and her daughter seriously injured.
She'd been drinking at one son's baseball practice and was on pain medication, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The infant, Wyatt Hortness, was ejected and later died at Brackenridge Hospital.
His 6-year-old sister also was ejected, suffering a skull fracture and a large cut on her back that required stitches, the affidavit said.
Roten's 10-year-old son suffered a severe laceration to his abdomen that required stitches, the affidavit said, and her 8-year-old son had scrapes and bruises.
Roten, 30, was treated at Brackenridge and released. She was being held at Travis County Jail on Monday evening with bail set at $75,000. She is charged with intoxication assault, a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and driving while intoxicated, which is a state jail felony.
Police said Monday that results from a blood-alcohol test had not come in but that they believe alcohol was a factor in the crash. A police officer noticed that Roten "had a faint odor of alcohol on her breath" after the crash, the affidavit said.
Detective Ely Reyes said police have not filed charges relating to the infant's death, but that Roten could face intoxication manslaughter or felony murder charges.
"The district attorney will determine whether charges will be filed or if we take the investigation before the grand jury and let the grand jury decide what type of charge will be filed," Reyes said.
Police say Roten was traveling east on U.S. 290 near MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) shortly after midnight when the 1994 Chevrolet Suburban she was driving struck the Explorer. Her Suburban rolled multiple times and landed in the median, officials said.
Before the crash, one of Roten's sons had noticed his mother swerving and told police that he remembered "asking her if she was okay," the affidavit said.
Reyes said Roten might have hit another vehicle before the crash, at William Cannon Drive and MoPac, but left the scene. Paint appearing to match the color of the car that was hit was found on Roten's vehicle, and her 10-year-old son told police he remembers hitting a car, the affidavit said.
A short time later, Jennifer Tavares, who was driving the Explorer on U.S. 290, saw Roten driving "erratically, swerving between lanes and onto the shoulder," according to the affidavit.
Tavares told police she passed Roten, who had pulled to the right shoulder and stopped. Later, Tavares told police, she noticed the Suburban behind her before it struck her, lost control and ended up on the other side of the highway.
Reyes said the two older boys were wearing their seat belts but was not sure whether the other passengers were. Police found a car seat in the vehicle, but they don't know whether the infant was properly strapped in, Reyes said.
Child Protective Services is investigating, spokesman Chris Van Deusen said.
Van Deusen said the agency has not investigated Roten in the past, though twice this year it had investigated relatives of Roten's with whom she and the children live. Abuse was ruled out both times, he added.
Her relatives could not be reached for comment Monday.
good thing she didn't smoke pot, or she might have to go to jail
..."which is a state jail felony...
Really? A "state jail felony"? I've not heard of that one before! What in the world is a "state jail felony"?
If she smoked pot, she probably would have been a better driver, right?
Prayers for the dead baby, and the children. To hell with the so-called mother. Rot in prison, b*tch.
And the sad part is that if she'd gotten a ticket for failure to properly restrain her child, all she'd need to do is go to Walmart and buy a child seat, bring it to court on her appearance date, and the charge would be dismissed. She could then take it back to Walmart and get her money back. As a municipal court judge, I've seen it done, and the statute reads that it's a defense that you have the proper child safety restraint when you come to court, not when the incident occurred. Don't GET me started...
It's where you are charged with a relatively "minor" felony and serve your sentence in a local jail rather than the big State Pen.
Well, at least in Austin, she'd fit in better with the flow of traffic...
Prayers for all of the survivors. The mother is already in a worse Hell than any fellow human being can put her in, because she must live with the knowledge that she killed her own child.
What is scary is that rotten piece of trash driving a Suburban could have killed your son or daughter. Hope they put this one under the jail.
Just wait till the lawyer comes along to sue GM and blame them for the rollover. With a vengeance she will come to believe that she just made a mistake, and but for the killer SUV everyone would have walked away.
Didn't think of that. Excellent point.
What's the medical reason for doped-up people surviving these types of accidents while those around them are torn assunder??
Call me crazy, but it doesn't seem like the main problem here is that the baby may not have been properly restrained, but that she was likely intoxicated from one or more substances, and driving like an idiot. Now we'll get the sob story about how she shouldn't go to jail or be deprived of her license to drive because that would be a hardship to her children (which does have some validity). Makes me angry.
Geezzz!
because she must live with the knowledge that she killed her own child.
That doesn't seem to bother 45 million other women. Perhaps you're right in this case.
Just wait till the lawyer comes along to sue GM and blame them for the rollover
And Ford because the Exp couldn't get out of the way.
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