A Boomer couple was arrested on the evening of Saturday, March 13 after allegedly allowing their unsupervised toddler to wander down the middle of Route 60. Tiffany Dawn Angel, 37, of Boomer and Stephen Casey Coiner, 40, of Boomer/Smithers, have been charged with child neglect creating risk of serious injury or death.
At approximately 6 p.m. on the date in question, Fayette County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to Route 60 in the Smithers area to investigate reports of a small child “walking and standing in the middle of the road.”
Once on the scene, deputies met the caller who advised that she had “jumped out in the middle of the road to rescue the child”, and that she had kept him safe in her vehicle until authorities arrived. The caller had the child in her vehicle for approximately 15-minutes while awaiting the arrival of deputies.
According to the caller’s statement, she had been traveling on Route 50 when she noticed the child standing in the road.
The caller further stated, “I immediately got out and started screaming at the oncoming traffic to stop. I successfully got him out of the middle of the road. He was standing on the yellow lines. He could not answer or tell me his name or where he lived. I asked him several times, then I called 911.”
The caller also added, “I know, without a doubt, he would have been run over. He was not visible until you were right on top of him. He was very comfortable with strangers and he was happy to stay with us.”
According to the criminal complaint, deputies, as well as the caller, began a door-to-door search of the houses along Route 60 in an attempt to locate the child’s parents. When deputies located the correct residence, they were met at the door by Tiffany Angel (the child’s mother). Angel allegedly stated that she had been downstairs in the basement, and, according to deputies, “she acted like she had no idea what was going on.”
Deputies then took Angel into custody. As Angel was being placed into the cruiser, deputies reportedly “noticed a male peeking around the side of the house”.
The male was later identified as the child’s father, Stephen Casey Coiner. Coiner was then taken into custody as well. Child Protective Services (CPS) was then contacted and the child was placed into their custody for placement.
Deputies described the home’s condition as “absolutely terrible and a mess. And there were no diapers in the house.”
In a statement released on Monday, March 15, Fayette County Sheriff Mike Fridley said that “[t]he home was in poor condition with drug paraphernalia around.”
Stephen Casey Coiner is currently being held at Southern Regional Jail on an $11,000 cash-bond or surety. Tiffany Dawn Angel has been released on bail and is awaiting court proceedings.
