Spartanburg man receives 28 years in prison for child's death
A Spartanburg man received a 28-year prison sentence Tuesday for leaving his 19-month-old daughter in a burning car while he fled the scene to avoid a police pursuit.
Imhotep O. Norman, 28, pleaded guilty of homicide by child abuse, failure to stop for a blue light and siren, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, trafficking methamphetamine and possession of with intent to distribute amphetamine, possession of oxycodone, and possession of Xanax, according to a statement from the Spartanburg County Solicitor's Office.
Norman’s daughter, Xena R. Norman, died April 12, 2019, due to acute carbon monoxide poisoning and thermal burns.
S.C. Highway Patrol troopers attempted to stop Norman’s 2015 Hyundai Sonata on Highway 14 near Johns Road for speeding. Norman drove over the median of Highway 14 and traveled northbound on Interstate 85.
The Solicitor's Office said flames and heavy smoke spewed from Norman’s car before troopers forced Norman to the right lane of the road near the 60-mile marker. Norman jumped from the burning car and left his daughter in her car seat.
After extinguishing the fire, firefighters found Xena Norman, according to the Solicitor's Office.
Norman fled into a nearby wooded area and was arrested hours later during a traffic stop near the University of South Carolina Upstate. After his arrest, the solicitor said Norman acknowledged leaving the child in the car during a post-arrest interview. He told investigators he thought law enforcement would rescue the child.
During the pursuit, a trooper watched Norman toss a backpack containing an assortment of illegal drugs out of the moving vehicle. Sheriff’s deputies recovered the backpack and preserved the evidence, according to the Solicitor's Office.
Norman will serve 85 percent of Circuit Judge Derham Cole’s prison sentence before he is eligible for release.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Man sentenced to 28 years for leaving his child in a burning car
