Police: Man fleeing police left child to die in burning car

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Authorities in South Carolina say a man fleeing a traffic stop left his daughter to die in a burning car.

News outlets report 26-year-old Imhotep Osiris Norman was charged with homicide by child abuse. The South Carolina State Highway Patrol says troopers tried to stop him for speeding on Friday.

Capt. Kelley Hughes says the pursuing troopers noticed Norman’s car was smoking and sparking. Authorities say a bag was thrown from the moving car; they say it later tested positive for illegal drugs.

The car then burst into flames and Norman fled on foot when it rolled to a stop. Investigators then found the body 1-year-old Xena Rah’Lah Norman in the car’s back seat.

Norman was later arrested. He says he didn’t know the car was on fire.