The woman who struck and killed her 17-month-old in a parking lot near her apartment is not likely to face charges, Lewiston police said Monday.
Taneisha Thomas, 27, of 50 Fairmount St. was backing her 2004 Mercury Mountaineer out of a parking space when she struck her daughter Tiannah Sevey about 5 p.m. Saturday, according to police.
“There’s no indication there’s going to be any charges,” said Lt. David St. Pierre, a spokesman for the Lewiston Police Department. “It was an accident, through and through.”
Thomas was leaving to run an errand, St. Pierre said, after attending a birthday party for one of her other children, a 10-year-old girl.
A fundraising page for Sevey’s burial costs was already halfway to its $5,000 goal by Monday afternoon.
“There are no words to describe the heartache her family is going through,” the page read. “The financial burden that has been placed on this family is huge therefore, we’re reaching out to the public to find it in your hearts to give.”
St. Pierre said Thomas has cooperated fully with the investigation. A blood test is being conducted to determine whether she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, a standard step in fatal motor-vehicle accidents.
The blood test, which could take weeks to complete, will help determine whether Thomas faces criminal charges.
“Once the results of the investigation are done, we’ll talk to the District Attorney’s Office,” St. Pierre said. “Is there a likelihood of charges? Probably not. Is there a possibility of charges? There always is.”
Lt. Mike McGonagle said Lewiston police officers performed CPR on Tiannah, but she died later at Central Maine Medical Center.
The Maine Attorney General’s Office and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services have also been notified. In cases where there are other children in a home, it would be up to the DHHS to determine if they should be removed. It is standard procedure to notify the Attorney General’s Office whenever there is a death of a child younger than 3.
Lewiston police confirmed that the victim had at least two other siblings, a 10-year-old sister and a 4-year-old sister.
McGonagle responded to the accident Saturday night and spoke with the little girl’s mother, who told him that family and friends had gathered at her home to celebrate her 10-year-old daughter’s birthday.
McGonagle said he is not sure how many children attended the party, which included Tiannah’s 4-year-old sister.
According to records from the Maine State Bureau of Identification, Thomas was convicted of operating under the influence in 2013 and is facing a recent charge of operating under the influence. Thomas was driving with a conditional license when she struck and killed her daughter.
The Sun Journal newspaper, citing state records, reported that Thomas’ license was suspended on Aug. 17 after she was charged with OUI with a prior OUI conviction and driving without a license on Aug. 13 on Turner Street in Auburn. The suspension was stayed on Sept. 11 and she was operating with a conditional license, which expires Oct. 7.
She is scheduled for a hearing on the license suspension Thursday.
Thomas was convicted of OUI in 2013 after striking a parked car in front of her home on Fairmount Street. Her blood alcohol level at the time was 0.27 percent, more than three times the legal limit. She was driving a 2000 Subaru owned by Michael Sevey and strayed to the right of the road, striking the car, according to the accident report. The impact forced the parked car into two other parked vehicles.
Thomas also had a conviction for theft by unauthorized taking in 2011.
Matt Byrne can be contacted at 791-6303 or at:
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