Deputies: Unrestrained infant suffers skull fracture in Clay County crash, driver arrested

Investigators say there was no child safety seat in the car

An infant suffered a skull fracture in a car crash Sunday night in the Doctors Inlet area, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

Kashayla Johnson, 22, of Jacksonville, was arrested as a result of the crash and charged with one count of child neglect and one count of causing serious bodily harm while driving on a suspended license, according to an arrest report.

It’s unclear if Johnson is the mother of the infant that was injured.

According to the arrest report, Johnson was traveling in a Chevrolet Impala on County Road 220 near Doctors Inlet Elementary when, for some reason, the car crossed the grass median and went across the opposite lane of travel before crashing through a school zone sign and ultimately crashed head-on into a tree. A responding deputy noted in the report that the impact with the tree was 60 feet from the roadway.

The deputy also noted in the report that there was an unrestrained infant in the car and that he also could not find a child safety seat.

According to the report, Johnson was also not wearing a seat belt.

When the deputy attempted to speak with Johnson, she could not explain where she was coming from or where she was traveling to, according to the report. The deputy also noted in the report that Johnson was mumbling, appeared lethargic with glassy eyes and seemed to have an altered mental state.

“The fact that he articulated those observations in his report shows that he had a suspicion that she may have been driving under the influence of something, be it alcohol or drugs,” said News4JAX crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson.

Johnson was taken to Orange Park Medical Center, and the infant was rushed to Wolfson Children’s Hospital, the report shows.

While in the ambulance on the way to OPMC, Johnson made a statement that was redacted from the report. The deputy said that once she arrived at the hospital, she refused to speak with him.

During the initial investigation, according to the report, the deputy learned Johnson had been driving on a license that was suspended as a result of not paying multiple traffic fines.

Another deputy went to Wolfson Children’s Hospital and learned the infant that was injured in the crash suffered a skull fracture, the report said.

After Johnson was medically cleared to leave the hospital, she was arrested, the report said.

The report notes that Johnson is also charged with battery on a law enforcement officer in a separate incident that occurred while she was at the hospital. According to the arrest report in that case, a deputy was escorting Johnson back to her room when she refused to enter and grabbed onto the door frame. The report said the deputy tried to remove her hands, but at one point, she pushed the deputy while trying to get past him and leave the hospital.

Johnson was booked Monday into the Clay County jail, where she remained on $250,000 bond as of Tuesday, according to jail records.


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