19-year-old mom and infant killed in head-on crash with tractor, Michigan cops say
A Michigan mother and infant were killed in a head-on crash after authorities say their vehicle crossed the center line and struck a tractor-trailer.
The accident happened Oct. 15 just before 8:30 a.m., according to a news release from Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough.
Authorities said 19-year-old Journee E. Padgett of Jackson crossed the center line “for an unknown reason” and hit a “tractor with tandem trailers.”
The sheriff said speed and alcohol were not factors in the crash.
Padgett was pronounced dead at the scene while her daughter, who had been “properly secured in a rear-facing car seat,” was taken to a local hospital where she died, according to the sheriff’s department.
The 58-year-old driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured, authorities said.
“She was a devoted mama,” Kel Hitt said in a Facebook post. Hitt said Padgett’s daughter Alanee was 4 months old.
“Journee was the best sister, daughter, mother, cousin, niece, friend, coworker, human being, and so much more,” Ashlee Lindell Padgett posted. “She was everything.”
Monroe County is about a 45-mile drive south of Detroit.
This story was originally published October 16, 2024 at 2:39 PM with the headline "19-year-old mom and infant killed in head-on crash with tractor, Michigan cops say."
