Man on motorcycle had baby in his lap during Clearwater crash, police say

The stepfather of a 17-month-old girl who was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident Thursday afternoon has been arrested after running a stop sign with the baby in his lap, police said.

Dontrell Stanley, 35, was riding a 2017 Diax motorcycle with his stepdaughter in his lap about 5 p.m. Thursday when he ran a stop sign at the at the corner of Engman Street and Roosevelt Avenue, according to Clearwater police. Stanley then laid down the bike to avoid crashing into a car and the baby was propelled underneath the car.

The infant was taken to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg where she was in critical but stable condition, police said.

Dontrell was taken to Morton Plant Hospital for treatment and then arrested and booked into Pinellas County early Friday on charges of child neglect with great bodily harm and operating a motorcycle without a license. He was being held in lieu of $10,250 bail.