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Police Investigate How 4-Month-Old Baby Fell From Moving SUV

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Issac Godfrey
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Fayetteville police are trying to figure out how a 4-month-old baby fell from a moving vehicle.

Investigators said they believe 19-year-old Isaac Godfrey, who was wanted for felony breaking and entering, fled after he saw police officers at a nearby traffic stop while traveling near Eastern Boulevard and West Mountain Drive.

When he jumped out of the moving Ford Explorer, the baby, Zyquarius Godfrey, apparently fell out of the vehicle and hit the pavement.

"There was a car seat, as far as we know, inside the SUV, but whether the child was strapped in, or where exactly the car seat was, is something that the investigators are still looking at," said Jamie Smith, a spokeswoman for the Fayetteville Police Department.

While the baby's grandmother and witnesses tended to the baby, Godfrey ran away from the scene. The baby was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, where he died at 3:54 a.m. Friday from complications resulting from head injuries, police said.

"I hate to see him go like this right here," said Chris Munn, the baby's grandfather. "He never got to see what life was about."

Police officers canvassed several parts of Fayetteville in search of Godfrey.

The sheriff's office said Godfrey's offered to turn himself in, but asked a Cumberland County deputy to first take him to see his dying child. The off-duty deputy agreed and drove Godfrey to the Cape Fear Valley Medical Center using a personal car.

Thursday night at about 11 p.m., Godfrey saw his son, and was then arrested and charged with felony child abuse in addition to the breaking and entering charges.

The deputy is on administrative leave, the sheriff's office said.

Godfrey was placed in the Cumberland County Jail under a $50,000 secured bond. He is expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday.

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