WHP: Authorities Had To Search for Baby Following DUI Crash
Natrona County sheriff's deputies had to search for a baby after a drunk driver crashed her car early Saturday morning.
That's according to an affidavit of probable cause a Wyoming Highway Patrol state trooper filed in Natrona County Circuit Court.
Darien Kay Laghezza made her initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court on Monday. She's charged with DUI and child endangerment. Both charges are misdemeanors.
Laghezza pleaded guilty to DUI and not guilty to child endangerment.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, authorities began investigating a crash on the US 20-26 bypass. When the state trooper who filed the affidavit arrived, deputies already on scene said they were looking for a baby. Laghezza, the driver, apparently crashed her vehicle before she took the baby out and began walking down the road.
At some point, Laghezza set the baby down — who was still in the car seat — and then could not find her, the affidavit says.
Court documents say that Laghezza told authorities that she had been drinking prior to the crash. When asked about the baby, Laghezza became hysterical.
A white 2015 Nissan Pathfinder was found roughly 75 yards from the roadway. The vehicle apparently hit a guardrail and then went off the roadway, the affidavit says.
Sheriff's deputies found the baby off the roadway and still in the car seat. The baby appeared to be uninjured.
According to the affidavit, the state trooper called Laghezza's friend, who said Laghezza had been drinking at a Casper bar earlier in the evening. A friend drove Laghezza and others from the bar to a home where they picked up Laghezza's baby.
At some point, they ended up at Laghezza's home. Laghezza and her husband had apparently been arguing all night.
According to the affidavit, Laghezza's friend told the trooper that Laghezza called just after 3 a.m. March 7 and said she'd looked down while driving and then crashed her car. Laghezza reportedly told her friend that she was walking down the road with her baby.
Laghezza allegedly performed poorly on a field sobriety test. A breath sample, given roughly two hours after authorities initially responded to the scene, yielded a result of .11%. The legal limit to drive in Wyoming is .08%.