Inset: Justin LaClair (Manchester Police Department). Background: Crash scene where LaClair allegedly hit, killed 1-year-old girl (WMUR).
A young girl tragically passed away on her first birthday after she and her 11-year-old sister were struck by a suspected drunk driver while crossing the street toward the park in New Hampshire.
Justin LaClair, age 23, faces charges of aggravated driving under the influence, reckless conduct, and conduct after an accident — New Hampshire’s equivalent of a hit-and-run charge — as announced by the Manchester Police Department in a press release.
Officers responded around 4 p.m. on Thursday to the intersection of Lake Avenue and Belmont Street following reports of a collision. They discovered the two girls with severe injuries, and paramedics quickly transported them to the hospital. Shortly thereafter, it came to light that a second crash involving the same vehicle had occurred a few blocks away. LaClair, found at that location, attempted to leave but was taken into custody, according to police.
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Manchester police announced Rebecca Cole died at a Boston hospital on Saturday — her first birthday. Her sister continues to receive treatment from her serious injuries at a hospital.
Citing court documents, the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper reports that the baby suffered an apparent broken neck. Her sister reportedly suffered a broken arm, femur and clavicle along with a punctured lung.
LaClair allegedly admitted to cops that he had been drinking and claimed he did not remember hitting the child.
Surveillance video of the crash reportedly showed the girls flying through the air after impact, after which LaClair allegedly sped away.
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“He is going at such a speed that when he crosses over one of the streets, the car actually goes airborne,” Carl Olson, Hillsborough County assistant prosecutor, reportedly said at LaClair’s arraignment. “That is the kind of speed he is going.”
On Sunday, Steven Cole spent Father’s Day lamenting the loss of his daughter and serious injuries to his other daughter.
“I tried to save you,” he said of Rebecca at a vigil, according to Manchester Ink Link.
“Why, why take away my little girl?” he also said through tears, the local news website reported. “All we wanted to do was go to the park and play.”
LaClair’s attorney argued at a hearing that her client should receive a bond because he had no history of reckless driving and does not have a violent past, according to local ABC affiliate WMUR.
But the judge disagreed and ordered LeClair remain in jail without bond.
