Mother charged in crash involving a police officer

Published 3:08 pm Wednesday, February 28, 2018

BATON ROUGE — The mother of a 1-year-old child who was killed in a crash that a police officer in Louisiana was charged in and accused of causing has been arrested.

According to an arrest report, 20-year-old Brittany Stephens was arrested Tuesday after police found her daughter’s car seat wasn’t secured and the straps weren’t adjusted correctly for the child’s height and weight.

The Advocate reports Stephens was charged with negligent homicide and seat belt violation. Three other adults in the car with Stephens were issued traffic citations.

In 2017, the Baton Rouge police officer struck a Nissan carrying several people. Officer Christopher Manuel was charged with negligent homicide and speeding.

The Nissan’s occupants were taken to a hospital and Seyaira Stephens later died of her injuries.

It’s unclear if the accused have lawyers.