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Drunk Arkansas woman leaves baby to die on freeway after the toddler fell from her speeding car

Whitney Turner-Tyson has a history of alcohol abuse and has been jailed for two days previously
UPDATED SEP 21, 2020
Whitney Turner-Tyson (Saline County Sheriff's Office)
Whitney Turner-Tyson (Saline County Sheriff's Office)

BENTON, ARKANSAS: A woman with a history of alcohol use has been charged with capital murder after a baby apparently fell from a moving vehicle and died. Whitney Turner-Tyson was arrested last Tuesday, September 15, after the child was found critically wounded on Interstate 30 in Benton, Arkansas.

Witnesses said the baby was lying on the road for more than an hour. Tommy and Sarah Berry who saw the child initially thought it was a “baby doll”. “I saw blood and I saw a little girl. So, I motioned to my wife to go ahead and call 911,” Tommy said while his wife said, “I kept saying ‘God be with this child.’ I kept saying it. I didn’t know what else to say.” The pair also added that a number of people passed by but no one stopped to help. Tommy said: “If you see something, at least report it. You don’t necessarily have to turn around and get on the side of the interstate. But if you see something that’s suspicious or gives you a gut feeling that may not be right, just call it in. The police will go to that spot.” But the toddler, believed to be around two years old, could not be saved and died while state police troopers waited for medical assistance.

According to reports, this was not Turner-Tyson’s first encounter with the police. A Little Rock police report stated that in June 2017, the 30-year-old was found “entangled” with her boyfriend during an argument. She was yelling obscenities and cops believed that she was under the influence of alcohol and narcotics or "substances.” She had also allegedly scratched her boyfriend. Though the man told officers that the marks were a sign of self-harm, cops stated in the report that they did not believe him.

The same night, a police officer reportedly warned other officers that Turner-Tyson would be quarrelsome as the former one had an experience with her in the past. Cops later pepper-sprayed the suspect and held her at the Pulaski County jail, the report added. The woman was the mother of a girl child who was at the time taken to her grandparent’s house. Turner-Tyson later pleaded guilty to public intoxication, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental operations, and was jailed two days for each charge. Later in 2017, police were again called to a disturbance involving Turner-Tyson. At the time, a relative had reportedly kicked her out of the house because of her drug use.

On the current charges, Turner-Tyson’s family has not said anything. But a woman on Facebook said that the baby who died in the Tuesday incident was her niece and only a couple months old. The confirmed age of the child has not been provided by the Arkansas State Police. They have also not said how Turner-Tyson was related to the baby. Currently, the accused has been held at the Saline County jail without bond. In addition to murder charges, she also faces charges of first-degree battery and endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.

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