Mother of 1-year-old swept away in hurricane flood waters faces criminal charges

MONROE, N.C. —
The mother of a 1-year-old who was swept into floodwaters created by Hurricane Florence has been charged in the boy's death.

The Union County Sheriff's Office said on its Facebook page 20-year-old Dazia Ideah Lee of Charlotte is charged with involuntary manslaughter and driving on a closed or unopened highway.

Lee told news outlets she wasn't from the area and was unfamiliar with the roads. Authorities said the water from a rain-swollen creek pushed her car off the road as she tried to cross a bridge and left her stuck in a group of trees on the night of Sept. 16. Lee said she was able to get Kaiden Lee-Welch out of the car, but the water caused her to lose her grip.

"I couldn't hold on anymore, and he let go," Lee told Fox 46. 

Multiple law enforcement teams searched for Kaiden that night and again in the morning, when his body was found.

Lee told the Washington Post that she had seen people successfully crossing the bridge, although she also saw barricades nearby.

“I can tell you that the barricades were up there,” Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey said the day after Kaiden was swept away, according to the Charlotte Observer. “Whether someone else moved those barricades and she drove around ‘em, I can’t say.”

Lee tearfully spoke to reporters after her son's body was found, desperately explaining how hard she tried to save him.

“I did everything I could,” Lee said. “From the moment I was pregnant until the moment I lost him. I did everything I could to save and protect him.”

She noticed that much of the response to Kaiden's death on social media was critical of her.

Comments included: “Mom made a bad decision,” “Although I feel for this child, I do not feel for the mother,” and “Negligence."

Cathey defended the decision to charge Lee.

“The tragic death of this child and the circumstances surrounding this case are heartbreaking,” Cathey said. “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.”

https://www.wesh.com/article/mother-of-1-year-old-swept-away-in-hurricane-flood-waters-faces-criminal-charges/24465378