RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A baby is in the hospital and her mother is in custody after witnesses say the baby was held out of a third-story window and dropped.
According to neighbors who were watching, a bystander was able to step in and keep the baby’s head from hitting the ground upon landing.
According to Richmond Police, the incident took place at the Belt Atlantic Apartment on Midlothian turnpike just before 6:40 p.m. Thursday, the baby is now in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The baby’s mother, identified as 27-year-old Mychae Goode, was arrested for felony child neglect and abuse.
“These incidents are impacting humans, they are impacting our kids, and so you can’t help but to be heartbroken by all the violence,” said Cruz Sherman, founder of Virginians in Action, a group dedicated to curbing violence in the area around the Belt Atlantic. “That tragic incident yesterday, have to feel for the mom. Evidently, she was extremely stressed or something.”
Goode was previously arrested for two counts of felony child abuse and neglect in 2019 after she was a passenger in a crash in which her son was killed. According to Chesterfield County Police, the car turned into a crossover on East Hundred Road when it went back into the travel lane and was hit from behind by an SUV. The car hit another vehicle from behind before coming to a stop.
One of the children in the car, 5-year-old Bryan Hughes, Jr., was taken to a local hospital where he later died. The other child, an 18-month-old boy, was sitting up front and was not hurt in the crash.
Goode was charged with possession of marijuana, allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a motor vehicle and operating an uninsured motor vehicle on top of the two child endangerment charges. The prosecution decided not to pursue these charges following Goode’s arrest.
The driver, identified as Datron L. Pierce, was charged with aggravated DUI manslaughter, driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, driving with a revoked license and driving with an unrestrained child in the car.
