Jury Convicts Woman in Crash that Killed 6-Year-Old Daughter

(MUNCIE) — An eastern Indiana woman has been convicted of neglect and other charges stemming from a highway crash that killed her 6-year-old daughter.

A Delaware County jury convicted 30-year-old Jessica Skeens of seven of nine charges Thursday, including neglect of a dependent resulting in death and driving while intoxicated.

The Farmland woman was driving a van in May 2017 when it crashed along the Muncie Bypass , killing Taelyn Ann Marie Woodson.

The Star Press reports the girl wasn’t in a child safety seat, as state law requires. Skeens’ three other children survived.

Skeens told jurors she drank whiskey and smoked marijuana before the crash. But she and her attorney contended the crash occurred because Skeens’ then-boyfriend had punched her in the face . Nathaniel Jordan is awaiting trial in the crash.

Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com