South Carolina Father Gets 28 Years After Leaving Daughter To Die In Burning Car During Police Chase
A South Carolina man who abandoned his 19-month-old daughter to die in a burning car during a police chase was served 28 years in prison after pleading guilty.
Imhotep O. Norman of Spartanburg was convicted Tuesday, according to the department of 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette. Reports stated that officers attempted to stop him from speeding in April 2019 as flames and smoke erupted from his car.
Instead, Norman drifted over the median of Highway 14 and onto Interstate 85, where troopers forced him to get in the right lane. Then he leaped out of the burning vehicle and as he ran away, a trooper noticed him toss a backpack that authorities say held illegal drugs, the solicitor’s office said.
Firefighters located his daughter’s body after putting out the fire. Xena Norman died from burns and acute carbon monoxide poisoning, the office detailed.
The toddler’s father, who was imprisoned hours after disappearing into the woods, told investigators he thought the pursuing officers would rescue her.
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Norman, who is only 28-years-old pleaded guilty to homicide by child abuse, a fault to stop for a blue light and siren, and many drug charges. He will have to fulfill 85 percent of his sentence before he’s capable of release, the solicitor’s office said.