NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
A two-year-old boy was critically injured in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday morning on Interstate 40, just east of downtown Nashville.
Metro police said the child's mother, Barbara Langley, 43, was stopped in traffic near Briley Parkway when her 2002 Saturn was struck from behind by the driver of a 2001 Dodge Ram pickup just after 9 a.m.
The truck's driver, 59-year-old Michael McDowell, reported that he saw the Saturn in the roadway but was unable to stop.
McDowell was not injured.
Langley, 43, sustained non-life threatening injuries.
Her son, LaDaveous Ivory, was transported to Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt where he remained in critical condition late Wednesday afternoon.
Police said he was riding in an unsecured booster seat located directly behind the driver.
However, in a statement to the media released Thursday morning, Langley said, "The child was secured in an age-appropriate car seat -- not a booster seat. The seatbelts and harness straps were removed by bystanders in an attempt to free the pinned child before the police arrived."
There was no evidence of alcohol or drug involvement.
The investigation is ongoing.
Eastbound lanes were partially blocked and traffic was moving slowly in both directions.
The scene was cleared and interstate reopened by 12 p.m. Noon.
