Mom charged after toddler daughter thrown from moving car

A Louisiana woman faces charges of attempted murder after her 20-month-old daughter was flung out of their car and injured as the mother sped around a curve at 30 to 45 miles an hour, authorities said.

Lasasha Allen, 23, is shown in a booking photo.

Lasasha Allen, 23, placed the toddler, who was not wearing a safety belt, on the passenger seat and threw open the car door as she drove along a rural road on Sunday, causing the child to be flung from the vehicle, said Sheriff Kevin Cobb of Franklin Parish in northeastern Louisiana.

Authorities were alerted after Allen brought the severely injured toddler to an emergency room.

Allen had been trying to get the attention of the baby's father, Cobb said.

She had sent the father a text the previous night saying the child had fallen out of a car window and was injured, Cobb said. The next morning, Allen arranged the accident so she wouldn't get caught in a lie, he said.

Allen was arrested on charges of second-degree attempted murder and remains in jail on bond of $750,000. Child welfare officials are involved with her four other children, Cobb said, including a 7-year-old who was riding in the back seat at the time of the accident.

It was not immediately clear whether Allen had hired an attorney.

Authorities said the 20-month-old was flown to a hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, where she was being treated for injuries including broken bones. Authorities did not release the child's name.