Crystal Snow wouldn't buckle the kids in, now one is dead

[Jaded]

A Franklin woman whose 4-year-old son was killed in a car accident Saturday had been involved in an earlier wreck in which her children were not properly buckled up.

Crystal Snow, 22, had been the subject of attention from the state Department of Children's Services as police made repeated visits to her Spring Street home in recent months, even arresting her in August on an aggravated assault charge after she stabbed a former boyfriend.

Snow maintained custody of her five children throughout the turmoil, even as DCS officials continued to visit her and neighbors called for the children's removal.

Snow was driving a 1992 Buick LeSabre Saturday evening in Dickson County when she ran a stop sign on Abiff Road at Highway 46 and slid under a tractor-trailer, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The wreck killed Snow's 4-year-old son, Beqwatrus Miller, 4, and boyfriend Brian Harrison, 24, of Franklin.

Snow was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, along with her other four children: daughters Deciandra Miller, 6; Lavontasha Miller, 3; and 1-year-old twin boys, Jajayveon and Kajayveon Miller.

All of the victims were in stable condition Monday afternoon.

Criminal charges were pending against Snow, the THP said, because none of the children were properly restrained in the vehicle. It was Snow's second wreck in less than a year that put her children in danger without safety restraints, according to police.

On April 30, Franklin police cited Snow for five violations of the state child restraint law for not having proper child seats, said Sgt. Charles Warner, after she wrecked a Plymouth Voyager van.

In that wreck, a 5-year-old was riding in the front passenger seat with no booster seat, while two 1-year-old children, Snow's twin sons, were in the second row with booster seats, which are not adequate for children that small, Warner said.

Two other children, ages 3 and 4, were seated in the back of the van and also did not have proper child seats, Warner said. There were injuries involved in that wreck, but Warner did not have details.

Snow was also cited in that wreck for not wearing a seat belt and not providing proof of insurance.

It was the second time in a month that Franklin police had ticketed Snow for not carrying auto insurance; in the previous instance, Snow was also cited for expired tags and one violation of the child restraint law.

Franklin police had grown familiar with Snow after responding to calls at her home 17 times between Dec. 28, 2007, and Aug. 20, primarily to check on people in the house.

The last call resulted in Snow's arrest on an aggravated assault charge. Snow had stabbed a former boyfriend in front of her kids, which should have convinced DCS officials to take the children away, said Hopkins, the neighbor.

"They never have done anything about those children," Hopkins said. "We would tell them, 'This is an accident waiting to happen.' "

DCS spokesman Rob Johnson said the agency had been working with Snow "in the area of questionable parenting" but he did not disclose the nature of the visits, citing confidentiality laws.

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