State troopers say a baby thrown from a vehicle during a rollover crash on I-77 just south of New Philadelphia Tuesday morning is expected to be OK.
The single-vehicle crash happened around 8:10 in the northbound lanes, just south of the I-77/U.S. 250 split.
Three family members from the Cleveland area were in the car. Troopers say the driver was a 51-year-old grandmother. Her 26-year-old daughter was in the passenger seat, unbuckled, with the infant on her lap after the two had switched drivers so the mother could feed the child.
Trooper Ryan Rainsberger says drowsiness caused the crash.
“The driver fell asleep, went into the median, overcorrected, and then it went off the right-side of the road struck the fence and overturned.”
Rainsberger says the crash broke a window, and the baby landed just outside the vehicle. The infant was flown to Akron Children’s Hospital and is expected to recover.
“The baby was alert at the scene, and they were just keeping it overnight for observations.”
The grandmother and mother were taken to Canton-area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
Rainsberger says the grandmother was cited for no driver’s license, child restraint, and child endangerment.
The mother is cited for not wearing a seat belt and child endangerment.
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