SKOWHEGAN — A Madison couple were indicted recently on charges related to a fatal crash in October that resulted in the death of one of their children.
A Somerset County grand jury indicted Robert A. Simonds, 30, and Ashley A. Corson, 29, last week on charges of manslaughter, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated criminal operating under the influence, driving to endanger and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Simonds was also indicted on an additional charge of aggravated assault.
The crash occurred Oct. 27 in Madison, and Simonds was arrested in March, when sheriff’s investigators alleged in an arrest affidavit that he was driving under the influence of crack cocaine and marijuana when he “dozed off” and his pickup truck veered off the road in Madison.
The truck was traveling about 80 mph when it hit a tree, killing one of the couple’s sons and injuring other family members inside the vehicle, according to officials. The family was returning home after visiting friends in Hartland.
Kaleb Simonds, 7, was killed in the crash, and Keagan Simonds, 1, suffered a serious head injury, according to officials. Logan Simonds, 9, was also injured.
The grand jury also found Corson, the mother of the three children involved in the crash, was criminally liable.
Neither Simonds nor the two older children appeared to have been wearing seat belts when the crash occurred, but officials at the time said Keagan Simonds was in a child safety seat.
Maeghan Maloney, the district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties, said Wednesday that Corson was indicted because “charges can be brought against the person who does a criminal act and against a person for accomplice liability.”
Maloney said she could not provide more information on Corson’s and Simonds’ indictments until the couple’s trial, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 6 in Skowhegan.
An indictment is not a determination of guilt, but indicates enough evidence exists for a case to move forward to trial.
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