WINFIELD, Ala (WIAT) – New details surrounding a car crash that revealed 1-year-old Kahleb Rowan Collins was missing months prior shows his father was driving “aggressively" prior to the crash.
On Dec. 8, Pam Bailey, Steven Collins, and their 2-year-old daughter Ryleigh Collins were driving north on County Road 73 when the car left the road and hit a tree at 10:24 am, according to an ALEA crash report.
EMS arrived seven minutes after the crash.
The Fayette County Coroner, Timothy Kimbrell, was called to the scene shortly after.
“When I arrived there was obviously a one vehicle MVA (motor vehicle collision). The two occupants besides the child were already in the ambulance receiving treatment,” Kimbrell said.
The mother, Pam Bailey, was airlifted to UAB, while Steven Collins, the father, was taken by ambulance to the same hospital, according to ALEA’S crash report.
ALEA’s report found that the father was “driving aggressively at an extreme rate of speed." That is noted as the primary contributing factor in the crash.
The speed limit on CR-73 is 45 mph. The father was driving 92 mph on the wet county road, according to the report.
“Due to his action, the driver was unable to operate this vehicle safely on the wet road way,” ALEA reported.
The father died on Dec. 9 at UAB, according to ALEA’s crash report.
However, the daughter, 2-year-old Ryleigh was pronounced dead 30 minutes after the crash.
“The best that we can tell – she was not in a car seat and she was not restrained,” Kimbrell said.
As parents were receiving medical aid, EMS crews were getting Ryleigh out of the back seat of the 2020 Toyota Tacoma.
“There seemed to be very minute external injuries,” Kimbrell said.
While injuries appeared minimal – they were fatal.
“I was on the State Pediatric Board as a coroner of the state of Alabama and that is one thing I cannot stress enough – parents, please put your children in their car seats and restrain them properly,” Kimbrell said.
ALEA reported the father’s blood was taken to test for any drugs in his system during the time of the crash. The results are unknown, according to ALEA’s crash report.
On Dec. 16, FCSO sent out a release that reads in part the following:
“On 12/09/2024 Law Enforcement was notified that Steven Collins and Wendy (Pam) Bailey had another child unaccounted for. The child was identified as Kahleb Rowan Collins.”
Three days after the crash and five days before FCSO sent out the press release, John Bailey was arrested for failing to report his 1-year-old grandson’s disappearance
The crash happened 0.8 miles away from the grandfather’s home based on GPS coordinates.
As of Tuesday, Dec. 24, the mother is still in critical condition according to family members, and the 1-year-old, Kahleb Rowan Collins, is still missing, according to FCSO.
FCSO, Alabama Bureau of Investigations, and the 24th Judicial Circuit Court District Attorney’s Office are working together to find the missing 1-year-old.
Kahelb Rowan Collins was last seen on Sept. 4, according to FCSO.
Anyone with any information are asked to contact the FCSO at (205) -932-3205, or ABI at (334)-676-7894.