COLLEGE STATION, Texas — A Texas woman is accused of causing serious injury to a child after authorities said she shook and threw a 5-month-old against a wall.
Berta Evelin Lopez-Vasquez, 21, of College Station, was arrested Tuesday and charged with serious bodily injury to a child, according to Brazo County online court records.
The child is in critical condition at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, KBTX-TV reported.
According to police in College Station, the child was dropped off by their parents in Lopez-Vasquez’s care while they worked, the television station reported.
In a probable cause statement, police said Lopez-Vasquez originally said she tossed the child in the air several times to get it to stop crying, adding that she accidentally dropped the baby on her bedroom floor, KBTX reported.
The statement alleged that Lopez-Vazquez failed to render aid once the baby had a seizure and stopped breathing for about a minute, the television station reported. She also refused to take the child to the hospital, calling its parents and telling them it was their responsibility to pick it up, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Doctors found fractures on the back of the child’s skull and brain damage, according to court documents. Doctors determined that the injuries were not accidental, KBTX reported.
Investigators with the Texas Department of Family Protective Services later determined that Lopez-Vasquez became frustrated with the child after they would not stop crying. The woman then “lost it” and began shaking the child for five seconds before throwing the baby into a wall about six or seven feet away, the television station reported.
Lopez-Vasquez remains in the Brazos County Detention Center, with bail set at $200,000, according to online court records.