Staff Report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Christina Shantell Gordan, aged 29, is facing a sworn complaint for two counts of vehicular manslaughter following a tragic accident in July that claimed the lives of her two unrestrained young children.
An investigation by the Gainesville Police Department revealed that around 6:07 a.m. on July 10, Gordan was driving west on SW Williston Road when another vehicle, attempting to turn onto I-75, did not yield and collided with Gordan’s vehicle. Upon arriving at the scene, bystanders discovered a six-month-old infant on the driver’s side floorboard between Gordan’s legs. They were also informed by Gordan about a second child, a 22-month-old, who was found on the front passenger floorboard. Both children were rushed to UF Health Shands in critical condition but later died from their injuries.
During their investigation, officers found no child seats in the passenger area of Gordan’s car. An infant car seat, without its base, was reportedly located in the trunk. Additionally, the seatbelts for both the driver and front passenger seats were found retracted, suggesting that none of the passengers were restrained during the incident.
Gordan admitted to an officer at the crash site that she was not wearing a seatbelt, and she also confessed to placing both children in the front passenger seat without securing them with a seatbelt.
Following a Miranda warning, Gordan recounted that she had just passed a McDonald’s on Williston Road and was heading “toward Archer” when the collision occurred. She initially claimed both children were in the front passenger seat with the seatbelt fastened. However, the police investigation, supported by evidence and Gordan’s own statements captured on an officer’s body camera, concluded that this account was inaccurate.
The investigation found that the infant was probably sitting on Gordan’s lap at the time of the crash, and the toddler was probably in the passenger seat, unrestrained.
According to a witness who was interviewed later, Gordan owned car seats for the children and normally transported the children in the vehicle she drove on the day of the accident.
The investigation found that Gordan caused the deaths of the children by culpable negligence by not securing them in child safety seats. The investigation concludes, “[Gordan’s] failure and omission to secure the [victims] in car seats in the rear of the vehicle, as dictated by state law, led to catastrophic injuries, resulting in death from a car crash.”
A warrant for Gordan’s arrest has not been issued, and Gordan has not been arrested.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
