Justin Golden, a 20-year-old Florida father, is charged with aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide for allegedly placing his 8-month-old infant in the middle of a busy Jacksonville intersection and then running over him. Before the alleged heinous crime, Golden reportedly clashed with a passenger in the vehicle, believed to be the child’s mother.
According to News 4 Jax, the incident occurred on Saturday, January 25, at Lenox and McDuff avenues. There was a confrontation between Golden and another passenger.
“The driver stopped the vehicle at the intersection, opened the door and placed the child on the ground,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office stated. “The driver then began to leave the area and the vehicle struck the child.”
Markin Barnes, the proprietor of a barbershop, watched the seconds after Justin Golden’s vehicle struck the innocent 8-month-old baby.
“I had a customer that was out front who witnessed the tail end of it,” Barnes told First Coast News. “She was holding a baby,” Barnes said of the vehicle’s passenger, possibly the mother of the child. “It was bleeding. We asked if she was ok and told her the ambulance is on the way. My customer went to the back. She was distorted, so I went to talk to her.”
Unfortunately, although the Jacksonville Fire Rescue took the baby to a nearby hospital, medical personnel pronounced them dead. The Daily Mail reported that they caught Justin Golden hours later and charged him with aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and failure to offer aid.
Heartbreaking
Barnes stated that by the time he saw the woman holding the infant, Golden had already left. However, the awful sight of the woman will haunt him forever because he is also a parent.
“Now that I’m finding out the details, it’s even worse,” Barnes said. “Just the screaming, the people consoling her, you could tell it really was tragic. Especially with a kid being that young. It hits home – anything dealing with the kids and you we take very seriously.”
According to News 4 Jax, Barnes then opened his barbershop to everyone in the neighborhood. Everyone who witnessed the horrific occurrence will be able to recover together. In a similar vein, authorities are working relentlessly to restore justice to the innocent 8-month-old. “We, in collaboration with our partners at the State Attorney’s Office, are committed to achieving justice for the baby,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office declared.
