Springfield man jailed after vehicular manslaughter conviction in 3-year-old’s death

A 41-year-old Springfield man is serving a jail sentence after he was found guilty of causing a rollover crash last summer that killed a 3-year-old boy and seriously injured the child’s mother.

Coy Wayne Linderman, 41, was convicted Wednesday of vehicular manslaughter in Clark County Municipal Court.

Linderman was driving his gray 2014 Chevrolet Sonic south on North Yellow Springs Street around 6 p.m. Aug. 20, 2020, when he was accused of running the red light at the intersection with Columbia Street and colliding with a 2007 GMC Yukon.

The impact caused the Yukon to overturn and eject its driver, Kimberly N. Burns, and her son, 3-year-old Khy’Ree A. Beard, both of Springfield, according to Springfield police and court documents.

Burns was taken to Springfield Medical Center and then transferred to Miami Valley Hospital with critical injuries but she has since recovered. Her son was pronounced dead at the scene. His cause of death was blunt force injury to the head, according to the autopsy report.

Burns told police that her son was sitting in a booster seat in the back of the vehicle, but that he had recently learned how to unbuckle his restraints and may have done so before the crash, according to court documents.

Following Linderman’s conviction Wednesday, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail with 30 days suspended; two years of probation; ordered to pay $500 in fines and $750 in costs; and $1,200 in restitution. His driver’s license also was suspended for two years, court records show.

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