DeLAND, Fla. – Two children and their mother were injured Thursday when they were deliberately struck by the family’s car, driven by the mom’s boyfriend, at a DeLand gas station, deputies said.
The driver, Nicholas Shaw, 29, was arrested at the scene on three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, neglect of a child and leaving the scene of an accident with injuries.
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The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said the family was returning to their Stuart home when they stopped at the BP gas station at 2801 E. New York Ave.
The children’s 30-year-old mother told Volusia sheriff’s deputies that she and Shaw had been arguing while traveling and it continued at the gas station, officials said. As the mother was holding her 3-year-old daughter, and her 10-year-old daughter stood next to her, the woman was trying to get her infant son from their car, the sheriff’s office said.
Shaw then yelled at the woman, “You’re not going to take my son,” deputies said.
Shaw shifted the car into reverse and accelerated, striking all three victims with the back passenger door, knocking them to the ground, according to authorities. He continued to accelerate, running the younger girl over with a tire, deputies said.. He then drove away with the infant but returned a short time later, officials said.
The girls each sustained scrapes and possible spinal injuries and were taken by ambulance to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, along with their mom and the baby. The injuries are considered non-life-threatening.
Shaw is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail without bond. He made his first appearance in court Friday where a judge denied his public defender’s request for bond.
“He literally drove over another human being on purpose and I don’t even know that that person is alive. So, there is going to be no bond for now,” the judge said.