Leesburg Mother Charged with Neglect after Volusia Deputies Find 2 Children Unrestrained in Car Pulled Over for Speeding

DeLAND, Florida—A little more than a week after a devastating crash that killed two unrestrained Leesburg children; two more Leesburg children were found unrestrained in a car that was reportedly speeding in DeLand at nearly 100 miles per hour.

Shortly after 12:30 a.m. Monday, two Volusia Sheriff’s Office deputies spotted a white Chevy Impala traveling 57 miles per hour in a 45 miles per hour zone. VSO started to apprehend the car and its speed increased to 70 miles per hour before turning onto International Speedway Boulevard and accelerating to 91 miles per hour in a 50 miles per hour zone, according to a VSO report.

As deputies approached the car, they saw two small children, a 3-year-old girl lying in the front seat, unrestrained, and a 2-year-old boy in the backseat also unrestrained. There were no car seats in the car, according to the report.

VSO spoke with the driver, Carolyn Poitier, 25 of Leesburg, the mother of the children, who said she was headed to Daytona Beach to pick up her boyfriend, the father of the two tots. One of the deputies began to speak with Poitier on the dangers of having her children unrestrained and Poitier, “had complete lack of emotion or concern for her children’s own well-being,” the deputy noted in the report. She also got her children’s ages wrong.

Carolyn Poitier

Poitier said she does own car seats but took the vehicle without the seats because she did not want to strap in her sleeping children; she said always drives in the same manner and “did not seem concerned with the speed.” When asked what would happen if she were involved in a crash, she reportedly said she did not plan to get in a crash.

VSO told her to arrange for her children to be picked up with car seats and “contact was made” with her boyfriend, the children’s father. She was then taken into custody for child neglect and due to a strong odor of burnt marijuana, her car was searched. VSO found three loose pills, identified as Tramadol, a prescription pain killer. She was arrested for possession, in addition to child neglect and issued traffic citations for speeding, careless driving and three seatbelt tickets. A copy of the report was faxed to the Department of Children and Families for review.

The children’s father arrived on scene with car seats and took the children and Poitier was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where she was released on $5,000 bond.

This incident comes just 10 days after an Easter Eve crash that killed two toddlers. Two Leesburg boys aged 4 and 2 were unrestrained in a Kia sedan when the Kia was involved in a head-on crash with a Toyota pickup truck. The crash killed both boys and one was ejected, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. A 1-year-old boy was airlifted to a local hospital in serious condition. It is unknown if he was in a car seat.

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