Man charged after baby and woman fall out of speeding van in Indiana County

BLAIRSVILLE, Pa. (KDKA) -- A man is facing charges after police said a baby who fell out of a moving van with a woman in Indiana County was critically injured.

Blairsville police said witnesses told them a gold-colored van was driving fast on South Spring Street around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday when a mom and her baby fell out.

"I was thinking, 'What the heck is going on?'" said neighbor Tom Ager.

He said the mother was inconsolable. 

"They put her in the ambulance, she was in there crying," Ager said. "And soon after that, the cop car flew up this way, going really fast."  

Police said the van drove back past the scene, and when an officer tried to pull over the driver, 22-year-old Rony Gomez Lopez, he sped up and crashed into a retaining wall along East Brown Street. 

The driver ran but police said they chased him and eventually used a taser to get him into custody. When they went back to the van, officers said they found a 3-year-old girl inside crying.

The woman who had fallen out of the car told police Gomez Lopez was speeding when he punched her in the arm. She told investigators the van's sliding door wasn't fully shut, which is why she fell out with her baby.

The child was flown to UPMC Children's Hospital in critical condition. The woman and the 3-year-old girl found in the van were taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries. 

"I think he should get life in prison, that's how I feel," another neighbor said.

After he was also taken to the hospital to have minor injuries checked out, Gomez Lopez was taken to the Indiana County Jail. He's facing multiple charges, including endangering the welfare of children, fleeing or attempting to elude police, simple assault and DUI. 

"Don't do it again. Get your life straightened out," Ager said. "I don't know if he was drunk, but who knows. But that ain't cool at all."  

Blairsville police said they've been in contact with Children Youth Services.