Speed, Alcohol Cited in Crash that Killed Toddler, 3

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An Oakland County woman arrested on drunken driving charges earlier this month now faces second-degree murder charges in the death of a 3-year-old Tabatha Brown, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Ieshia Barnes, 24, of Pontiac, was remanded back to the Oakland County Jail Tuesday after charges against her were amended to second-degree murder and three counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury. If convicted, Barnes could face up to life in prison.

The sheriff’s office alleges Barnes’ blood alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit when she sped through a stoplight at the intersection of South Boulevard and Woodward Avenue in Pontiac about 7 p.m. on April 17 and T-boned a van driven by Alysea Stilwell, 23, of Waterford.

Stilwell and her passengers – her brother, 16; nephew, 2; and Tabatha – were all injured in the crash. Tabatha Brown died of her injuries on April 19.

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Barnes’ speed was estimated at 50-62 mph, and her blood alcohol content was .154, according to a crime lab analysis. She didn’t brake and crossed six lanes of traffic before impact, Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Rymarz testified during Tuesday’s hearing, according to a report in The Oakland Press.

Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said Barnes’ actions showed “wanton disregard for human life.”

Barnes’ bond was continued at $500,000 during Tuesday’s court proceedings before 50th District Court Judge Michael Martinez. Her next court date is May 5.

The families involved in the crash are shirt-tail relatives, and several of them embraced outside the courtroom Tuesday, according to The Oakland Press.

“I can’t even explain,” Carla Barnes, Ieshia Barnes’ aunt, said when a newspaper reporter asked how the families were coping with the toddler’s death and injuries to the passengers in Stilwell’s van.

David Newland Jr., 2, remains in critical condition at Beaumont Royal Oak Hospital and is on life support. He suffered a fractured vertebrae and is paralyzed on one side, according to The Oakland Press.

Alysea Stilwell sustained a broken pelvis. She is recovering, “but she still has a long road ahead of her,” Denise Brown, Tabatha’s grandmother, told the newspaper.

The condition of the 16-year-old, also hospitalized at Beaumont Royal Oak Hospital, is unknown