Monongalia County Sheriff’s deputies made several arrests after a vehicle crashed with a young child inside near Blacksville late Monday morning .
Derick L. Sampson, 28, of Morgantown, and Roberta J. Lightcap, 33, of Morgantown, were charged with obstructing an officer and conspiracy after allegedly fleeing the scene of the accident with a 2-year-old toddler, according to criminal complaints. Trixie Rutan, 45, of Carmichaels, Pa., was also a passenger in the vehicle and was charged with conspiracy.
Deputies responded to the crash on Mason Dixon Highway, east of Black’s Run in Blacksville, which MECCA advised involved a vehicle that had rolled over, the complaint said.
Deputy Sheriff Steven Neff, who filed the complaints, said when he arrived on scene he saw the vehicle lying on its top blocking the roadway. Neff said there were two individuals on scene, one of whom was one of the defendants.
Neff said in the complaint that both people advised him that the female driver “fled from the scene to get help despite calls for service already made.”
Upon further investigation, it was mentioned that a fourth occupant had also fled from the scene and “took a 2-year-old baby with them that was also involved in the crash,” the complaint said.
Neff reported that both people reiterated that the female who fled was the driver, and both provided written statements to support their claims.
According to the complaint, “further investigation provided that the female who fled from the crash was never on scene and that the actual driver of the vehicle was the male with the infant patient.”
Additional information on the incident, including what caused the crash, why the man fled with the child, or if any injuries were sustained in the crash to the child or the defendants, could not be confirmed by press time.
Sampson and Lightcap were released on $3,500 and Rutan on $1,500 personal recognizance bonds.
