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Aunt charged in infant's death Police allege she drove off road while on drugs By MARK FREEMAN WILLIAMS - A Grants Pass woman faces manslaughter charges for allegedly being under the influence of illegal drugs when she crashed her car into a tree Sunday night, killing her infant nephew, who was in the car. Victor Joseph Bettencourt III, who was nine days shy of 11 months old, suffered severe head injuries in the 9:30 p.m. crash on Water Gap Road. He was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Josephine County Sheriff's deputies arrested the car's driver, Cherry Arlene Pierce, on a charge of first-degree manslaughter. Deputies allege that Pierce, 36, of 1550 Cedar Flat Road, Grants Pass, was under the influence of one or more illicit drugs at the time of the crash. Alcohol was not believed to be involved. Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Goodpasture said Pierce's behavior in front of deputies led to the suspicion that she was under the influence of an illegal drug or an abused prescription drug. A blood sample was taken from Pierce, and an analysis of that blood will help determine if she was under a drug's influence, he said. Driving under the influence of any intoxicant is considered reckless behavior under Oregon law. Since Pierce's alleged recklessness was a factor in a car accident that killed a child, police arrested her on a charge of first-degree manslaughter. Pierce was lodged at the Josephine County Jail, where she was being held Monday night on $50,000 bail. She was scheduled to be arraigned at 1 p.m. today in a Josephine County court. The investigation into the wreck was continuing Monday. It was too early to determine whether Pierce will face additional charges, Goodpasture said. Pierce's brother, Victor Joseph Bettencourt Jr., is the dead child's father. The infant's mother is Crystal Nadine Gallagher, police said. They live in Grants Pass. Gallagher and Bettencourt left the infant and her 4-year-old sister with Pierce for a few days while they went camping in the woods in western Josephine County, deputies said. The accident occurred while Pierce was driving her 1988 Honda sedan south on Water Gap near Dreamhill Lane outside the Grants Pass city limits. Pierce apparently lost control the of the car, which swerved off the road and hit a tree before coming to rest at the edge of the roadway, deputies said. The infant was in a child-safety seat on the right side of the back seat, Goodpasture said. Pierce and the sister of the infant were taken by ambulance to Three Rivers Community Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and released. Sheriff's deputies found the dead infant's parents in the woods, and they were reunited with their daughter early Monday at the hospital, deputies said. The dead child was taken to the medical examiner's facility at the Oregon State Police office in Central Point, where an autopsy will be done, deputies said. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.