Mother charged after toddler succumbs to Feb. 25 crash injuries
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
An Atmore woman, the driver of a vehicle involved in a violent, head-on collision that happened shortly after 9 p.m. last Tuesday, February 25, near Atmore Country Club, has been charged with reckless murder and first-degree assault.
The crash probe by state troopers turned into a fatality investigation after a 2-year-old Atmore child, critically injured while riding in a Cadillac SRX that was driven by her mother, 31-year-old Sarah Emily Janes of Atmore, passed away on Saturday (March 1) at a Pensacola, Fla. hospital.
Janes, who was also injured, was arrested when she was released from the hospital on Monday. According to Escambia County Detention Center records, she is charged with one count of reckless murder and two counts of first-degree assault. No details were released as to the reason the charges were brought. Janes is being held without bond.
According to her Facebook page, Janes is an employee of the Baldwin County Clerk of Court’s office and also works as a promotions and events specialist at Wind Creek Atmore.
According to Alabama Criminal Code, reckless murder occurs when a person (a) recklessly engages in conduct that creates a serious risk of death to another person, (b) acts with extreme indifference to human life, and (c) commits a felony that is dangerous to human life and causes death.
The Cadillac’s other passenger, a 4-year-old child was also injured and taken to an area hospital. The extent of the child’s injuries was not known, nor was his or her respective condition, at Tuesday’s press deadline.
State trooper reports show the 2-year-old was critically injured when the Cadillac collided head-on with a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica driven by Brittany N. Colley, 38, of Mobile.
According to a family member, the juvenile was flown by air ambulance to one area trauma center, where he went into cardiac arrest. He was then flown to another hospital, where doctors discovered his spine had been severed. The family member said the child remained on life support until doctors pronounced him dead on Saturday.
The Mobile woman driving the Chrysler was injured and was taken to USA Hospital in Mobile. Four children — ages 15, 12, 6 and 9 — who were passengers in the vehicle also suffered injuries of varying degrees and were taken by air and ground ambulance to an area hospital.
Colley, her 12-year-old child and several bystanders reportedly worked to pull the other children out of the Pacifica, which caught fire after impact and was burning fiercely.
“One of the vehicles was fully involved when we got there,” Atmore Fire Chief Ron Peebles said. “We didn’t have to do an extrication. Everybody had already been pulled from the car when we got there.”
Family members said Colley suffered a crushed heel; one of her children suffered a broken back, colon damage and leakage around her heart; and another child suffered a broken collarbone.
The most serious injury, the relatives said, was suffered by the 15-year-old. He reportedly remained in an area hospital’s intensive care unit on Monday after having undergone at least two surgeries to repair damage to his intestines. The fourth child in the vehicle was not seriously injured.
The collision occurred near U.S. 31’s 38-mile marker, just outside Atmore’s western limits.