Mother trying to find person responsible for crash that killed 8-month-old son
Tanisha Smith is trying to find the person who is responsible for the crash that killed her 8-month-old son.
By Melanie Johnson
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ST. LOUIS (KMOV) — A mother is fighting for justice as no one has been held responsible for her 8-month-old child’s death.
“He was just his own little character already at 8 months and all of that just got stripped away,” says the boy’s mother, Tanisha Smith.
Smith’s son, Marqiest Bean, was the only person killed in a head-on crash in July. Police say the suspects were driving the wrong way on Interstate 255 and caused the fatal accident.
“The car hit us. It happened so fast. We didn’t see it coming at all,” Smith says. “To the drivers, you changed our life completely forever within a blink of an eye.”
According to Illinois State Police, deputies spotted a car they say matched the description of a vehicle involved in a Belleville home invasion. The July police report says officers tried to make a traffic stop but the car took off on I-255 going northbound in the southbound lanes.
“I can’t go by that highway without breaking down,” says Smith.
Despite three people being arrested following the deadly collision, all of them were released.
“No one’s in jail and I’m trying to figure out how is that possible,” Smith said. “Why is it being swept under the rug?”
Smith says police have made her quest for justice more difficult.
“When I call the police for answers, I’m getting attitude and agitation,” she says. “We’re the victims. We didn’t hit ourselves and most importantly we didn’t kill our own baby.”
On Wednesday, Illinois State Police said there are no updates or available information and cited the open and ongoing investigation.
The family has set up a GoFundMe for baby Marqiest Bean.
“Every day all day I see the crash in my head,” Smith said. “I see my baby in my head and I just think all I have left are memories.”
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