Unthinkable Tragedy: A Mother's Negligence Claims Her Baby Son

A young mother, Morgan Kiely, has been found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence after her six-month-old son, Harry, was tragically ejected from a car in July 2022. The devastating incident occurred because Harry was not properly secured in his car seat, leading to "unsurvivable" injuries, including a skull fracture.

At the time of the incident on July 13, 2022, Kiely, then 19, had been drinking at Clacton beach in Essex with a friend, Stevie Steel, and her infant son. As Steel drove off, her Ford Focus flipped onto its roof, and Harry was thrown from his seat through an open window.

Now 22, Morgan Kiely, of Ryde Avenue, Clacton, was convicted at Chelmsford Crown Court following approximately five hours of jury deliberation over two days. She received a two-year suspended sentence. Kiely chose not to give evidence during her trial, but a crucial witness testified that it was "highly likely" Harry's car seat straps were not fastened.

The court heard that Kiely was a passenger in the car driven by Stevie Steel, who was under the influence of alcohol. Steel, from Crayford, Kent, had previously admitted to causing death by careless driving whilst intoxicated.

The fateful day began around 3 p.m. when Kiely and Steel purchased three bottles of Prosecco before heading to Clacton beach with Harry. They spent several hours drinking on the beach and were briefly joined by Mitchell Bassett, Steel's ex-partner. Mr. Bassett, upon learning of their plans to continue drinking, offered to drive them from the beach.

Judge Robert Jay strongly admonished Kiely for her decision not to accept Mr. Bassett's offer, stating, "Alarm bells should have been ringing in your head at that point. You knew how much Stevie had drunk. You could and should have taken up Mitchell's offer. A mother should not agree to travel with a drunk driver."

The tragic crash occurred on Cherry Tree Avenue when Steel became distracted and smashed into a stationary vehicle. The Ford Focus, though travelling within the 30mph speed limit, overturned and came to rest on its roof. Both women were left suspended by their seatbelts, while six-month-old Harry was violently thrown from the car through an open window.

Judge Jay commented on the unlikeliness of the specific outcome: "This was not an accident that was likely to happen. Maybe 99 times out of 100 the car would not have rolled over at this sort of speed and Harry would have survived."

Bystanders, including a retired paediatric nurse, immediately rushed to Harry's aid, providing emergency treatment at the scene for over an hour before he was rushed to the hospital. Despite medical staff battling to save him, Harry succumbed to his devastating skull fracture and died around 9 p.m.

During the trial, jurors heard a 999 call from the incident, reviewed body-worn camera footage from a responding officer, and considered insights from an expert witness on the mechanics of the child car seat, as well as evidence presented by Mr. Bassett. The expert acknowledged that while highly improbable, it wasn't impossible for the seat straps to have been correctly fastened.

Judge Jay solemnly told Kiely: "Harry's safety was your responsibility. It should have been your primary concern that day." However, he also acknowledged this neglect as a deviation from her usual attentive care, remarking, "I think that it is obvious to everyone in this courtroom that you were a very good mother to Harry in all respects, and that this was a singleton failure."

Benjamin Summers, defending Kiely, presented statements to the court portraying her as a "devoted and loving mother" to Harry, who was "deeply caring." It was revealed that Kiely had taken Harry on journeys to Liverpool and Scotland to meet family during his brief life. The court also heard that Kiely had ceased working as a carer but has recently resumed this role and is now mother to a four-month-old baby. Mr. Summers described the incident as a "dreadful, dreadful, dreadful error."