Infant saved by emergency c-section after fatal wreck has brain damage

The 7-month-old girl who was saved with an emergency cesarean section after her mother died in an accident on Interstate 55 has been diagnosed with brain damage, according to court documents.

Maddyson Iler was born after her mother, Sarah Iler, was killed in a three-vehicle wreck May 11 on I-55 just south of Cape Girardeau.

Iler’s sister, Kasandra, sued Matthew Rider, Linden Bulk Transportation and Jerald Lathers for damages in excess of $25,000 after Iler’s death.

According to an amended petition from Alan S. Mandel, Kasandra Iler’s lawyer, Maddyson suffered hypoxic brain trauma as a result of the accident, and she will need medical treatment for the rest of her life. Hypoxic brain trauma often is caused by a lack of oxygen reaching the brain.

Maddyson is under the care of physicians at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and has been receiving physical therapy in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Mandel said.

The extent of the brain damage and the subsequent medical treatment that is needed remain unknown, Mandel said.

She does not appear to have cerebral palsy and has reacted in most situations like most other infants, save for some spasticity in the left side of her body, Mandel said.

“As a father of six, she appears to me that she reacts normally,” Mandel said.

The amended petition was filed Oct. 18. Judge Michael Gardner will preside over a motion hearing at 10 a.m. Monday in Cape Girardeau. The first trial date in the case is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2018.

Cape Girardeau Police Lt. Brad Smith and Cpl. Cary Dunavan quickly arrived at the scene after the wreck, and Dunavan gave Sarah Iler CPR in an effort to save the unborn child. The C-section was performed at Saint Francis Medical Center.

“Shout-out to the people at the hospital,” Mandel said. “The fact that she is here is truly a miracle.”

Mandel stated in the amended petition that Rider, who was driving Sarah Iler to a hospital in a Chevrolet Blazer, slowed below the minimum posted speed on the interstate and as a “direct result of that action, the decedent suffered serious bodily injury, pain, and mental anguish prior to her death.”

When Rider slowed, a semitractor-trailer truck driven by Jerald Lathers of New Jersey and owned by Linden Bulk Transportation Co., also of New Jersey, struck a silver SUV that struck the Blazer containing Iler and Rider, according to the petition.

The petition states Lathers was inattentive, drove at an excessive speed, failed to keep a safe distance between the vehicles he was following, drove too fast for conditions and should have known there was a likelihood of a collision and should have stopped, swerved or slackened.

Neither Rider nor Lathers were issued a traffic citation as a result of the crash, according to the Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Michael R. Smith is listed as Maddyson’s biological father in the amended complaint. Smith and Amanda West, who lives with Kasandra, are listed as Maddyson’s legal guardians.

Lawyers for Rider, Linden and Lathers are working out discovery issues in the civil case for Maddyson.

Rider, through his lawyer, Russell Watters, filed a motion for Linden and Lathers to provide documents and other items in discovery Oct. 20. Linden and Lathers sent a response Nov. 30 objecting to most of the discovery requests, and Rider filed a subsequent motion to compel Linden and Lathers to produce and copy DVDs and other materials for Rider.

The story of Maddyson Iler’s rescue captured national media attention. A GoFundMe account raised several thousands of dollars for the family. The account no longer is active.

bkleine@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

44 N. Lorimier St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.