Infant Not Properly Secured Killed In Car Crash

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A Mother in Brunswick County and another driver have been charged after a baby girl was killed in a crash Saturday morning.

Four-month-old Laila Hawkins Manning died after a car her mother was driving was hit by another car at a Brunswick County intersection.

The 2-vehicle crash happened around 6:30 a.m. on June 24, on Route 644 at Route 656.

“A 2000 Mitsubishi was traveling south on Route 656. It pulled up to and stopped at the stop sign at the intersection with Route 644,” Virginia State Police wrote in a statement. “As the Mitsubishi pulled across Route 644 to make a left turn, it collided with a 2016 Honda traveling east on Route 644.”

Police say the impact of the crash caused the Honda to run off the road and hit an embankment. The infant, who was a passenger in the Honda, was ejected from an unsecured infant car seat, according to police. The baby was transported to VCU-CMH in South Hill, Va., where she succumbed to her injuries.

Investigators say that Laila was not secured in her infant seat nor was the seat rear-facing – as required by law.
No other injuries were reported in the crash.

The child’s mother, Stephanie Hawkins, 31, was driving the car and has been charged with failure to secure a child under 8 years of age.

The driver of the Mitsubishi, Chavioleyette S. Lambert, 34, of LaCrosse, Va., has also been charged with failure to stop at a stop sign.

The crash remains under investigation.