Driver who accidentally killed child, injured another to face charges, cops say

Braden Stevenson (left) was killed and Luke McWilliams (right) was seriously injured when a car hit them in Newton County on Monday.

Credit: GoFundMe

Credit: GoFundMe

Braden Stevenson (left) was killed and Luke McWilliams (right) was seriously injured when a car hit them in Newton County on Monday.

The driver of an out-of-control car accused of hitting two children — killing one and seriously injuring the other — is expected to face charges, authorities said.

Karlrio Kelsey, 34, of Covington, has charges pending against him after he lost control of his 1997 Dodge Ram on Kirkland Road, overcorrected and struck a garage about 82 feet away from the roadway with two kids inside, Newton County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Favel Edwards told AJC.com.

According to a sheriff’s office incident report, Kelsey was not arrested at the scene. No details were provided on the charges that are pending.

This is an image of the path Karlrio Kelsey's vehicle took during the accident on Monday that killed Braden Stevenson, 12, and seriously injured Luke McWilliams, according to authorities. (Photo: Newton County Sheriff's Office)

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Luke McWilliams and Braden Stevenson, 12, were searching for a pet hamster in Stevenson’s grandmother’s garage on Monday when Kelsey’s vehicle crashed into it, according to a sheriff’s office accident report. The vehicle ran over McWilliams and pinned Stevenson against a wall.

MORE: Out-of-control car kills 12-year-old, seriously injures another in Covington

Stevenson was taken to Piedmont Newton Hospital, where he later died. McWilliams was flown to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, underwent seven hours of initial surgeries and has been in critical condition since.

The GoFundMe page for McWilliams previously said both of his legs were crushed and he suffered severe vascular damage to his femoral artery. During the initial surgeries, he had “a plate (inserted) from his hip to his knee, pins in both knees, a halo to hold his tibia and femur together and 41 units worth of blood transfusions.”

McWilliams remains at Egleston, and he’s having “complications regarding his kidneys and a high grade fever,” which is preventing him from being stable enough to undergo surgery, according to an update Friday on his GoFundMe page.

He was supposed to undergo surgery on Thanksgiving, but his complications in addition to the rate in which he’s losing blood forced doctors to keep him in a medically-induced coma, the update said.

Here's a link to Stevenson's GoFundMe page, which is fundraising for funeral costs. Here's a link to McWilliams' GoFundMe page, which is fundraising for his medical expenses.

As of Friday evening, Stevenson’s page had raised more than $11,800, and McWilliams’ page had raised more than $3,500.

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