Inset: Kandice Grace (Fulton County Jail). Background: The street in Atlanta where Grace’s son died after getting his head stuck in the car window (Google Maps).
A 32-year-old mother in Georgia has been arrested in connection with the death of her 7-year-old son, after she allegedly got high and passed out in the driver’s seat while her son got his head stuck in the back window and was fatally strangled.
Kandice Keiamber Grace was taken into custody earlier this week and charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree cruelty to children in the death of young Mazi Simmons earlier this year, authorities announced.
In a news release from the Atlanta Police Department, the agency said Wednesday that the fatal incident took place on April 6, in front of a residence in the 300 block of Scott Street Southwest.
Officers responded to the address after getting a call about an unresponsive child inside of a car, local ABC affiliate WSB reported, citing a probable cause affidavit for an arrest warrant. Upon arriving, first responders said they found a young boy in the back seat of the vehicle with his head stuck outside of the window.
Emergency medical personnel rushed the boy to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for treatment, but he was reportedly pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital. The Fulton County Medical Examiner determined that Mazi’s death was due to accidental strangulation, local NBC affiliate WXIA reported.
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Police said two other young children were also found unharmed inside of the car along with their mother, identified as Grace.
The 911 caller provided investigators with details that appear to have led to Grace’s arrest.
The witness reportedly told police that Grace had come to his home the previous evening, but she left her three children in the car when she went inside. He said Grace was only at the house for a short while before she left.
The following morning, the witness reportedly said he went outside and found the 7-year-old boy inside the car, with his head hanging motionless out of the back seat window. Grace was allegedly passed out in the driver’s seat of the vehicle. The witness repeatedly banged on the car to try and wake up her up.
During her subsequent interview with police, Grace passed out multiple times while holding her youngest child, whose age was not included in the reports, leading investigators to obtain a warrant to test her blood and urine, per WXIA.
The toxicology results reportedly came back on Aug. 8, and apparently showed that Grace had tested positive for opioids and THC. Authorities concluded that Grace had been driving under the influence of drugs with her kids in the car before losing consciousness. Police said that after she passed out, Grace was unable to supervise her young kids, which is how her son was able to become trapped in the window.
Grace is currently being held in the Fulton County Jail without bond, records show.
