A mother from North Carolina was charged with involuntary manslaughter after her one-year-old child drowned in floodwaters caused by Hurricane Florence. Police said that 20-year-old Dazia Ideah Lee was driving with her son, Kaiden Lee-Welch, when she encountered road closures along Highway 218.
Lee decided to drive around one of the barricades that blocked off roads closed by flooding, and was pushed off a bridge and into a wooded area by water from an overflowing creek. She managed to get herself and her son out of the car but as she was trying to climb to safety, she lost a grip on her son and he was washed away by the fast-moving floodwaters.
“I was holding his hand, trying to hold him, trying to pull him up and it got to the point that I couldn’t hold on anymore, and he let go,” Lee told FOX46.
Rescue workers discovered the body of the young boy the following day.
Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey said that despite the tragic circumstances, charges against Lee "are appropriate."
“The tragic death of this child and the circumstances surrounding this case are heartbreaking. We continue to pray for all those suffering as a result of this child’s death. However, after a very thorough investigation and taking all facts into consideration and applying the law, we feel that these charges are appropriate."
Photo: Union County Sheriff's Office