Two children injured in Gilmer County crash, woman charged

GLENVILLE, W.Va (WDTV) - A woman has been charged in Gilmer County after officers said she was involved in a crash that injured two children.

Troopers with the West Virginia State Police responded to a head-on crash on Ellis Run Rd. in Gilmer County on Feb. 28 after authorities said a juvenile was unresponsive, according to a criminal complaint.

When officers arrived on the scene, a child with “severe head trauma” was in an ambulance and would be flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital. Another child was crying and was “clearly shaken up and upset.”

Investigators said both children and the drivers of both vehicles involved in the crash were taken to the hospital.

As troopers were investigating, it was determined 31-year-old Traci Wolfe, of Sand Fork, did not put the children in car seats because she was “running late,” the report says. Troopers said only one child was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. The other child’s head allegedly smashed into the windshield.

While at the hospital, a CPS worker took a urine sample from Wolfe, and she tested positive for amphetamines and methamphetamine.

Court documents say medical records show the child not wearing a seatbelt was taken immediately to Ruby Memorial Hospital and had several injuries from slamming into the dash grab bar and the front windshield. Troopers said the child had severe head trauma, including a blood clot in the brain, bruising of the brain in several places, and a skull fracture that continued to the sinus bone. The child’s current condition is unknown.

Troopers said the child wearing a lap belt had several cuts and bruises. Wolfe received a concussion after her forehead slammed into the steering wheel.

Wolfe has been charged with two counts of child neglect resulting in injury, two counts of driving under the influence with serious injury, child neglect resulting in injury, two counts of driving under the influence with injury and no child safety seats. She is being held at Central Regional Jail on a $20,000 bond.

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