Woman Charged With ‘Intentionally’ Driving SUV Into Mother, Baby On Stroller

A woman in Kansas City has been charged with “intentionally” driving her SUV to hit a mother and her two-month-old baby, injuring both. Police called the incident an “unprovoked attack.”

According to a report in KCTV 5, several home surveillance cameras captured the incident which took place near 101st Place and N. Oak Trafficway on May 29.

Court documents stated that the suspect, Michele Klingler, drove her vehicle over the grass to directly strike Teirra Finch and her son. Though police have obtained the videos of the incident, they have not released them to the public.

Talking about the incident, Teirra Finch said she set out for a walk after strapping her son into a car seat that attaches to their stroller. She said that “she just wanted a fresh breath of air and that it was a normal walk.”

Finch told KCTV 5 that while taking the walk, she felt that the SUV was coming very close to her and the baby. "She crossed over the curb. We made eye contact and she kept coming closer," the woman said, adding that she doesn’t recognize the driver.

"Never crossed paths. I don’t know who she is," Finch said.

Terrified and worried, Finch said that she immediately called 911 and her husband to pick them up. That's when she heard the SUV coming back towards them for the second time. "For her to go around and double back and come do it again. It’s hurtful and it’s traumatizing," she said.

The vehicle hit Finch and her son who was thrown across the yard due to the impact of the hit. The woman received injuries on her shoulder and arms.

"After we got hit, I was screaming for help. Of course, I was screaming for my child. Seeing my baby fling across the yard was terrifying," Finch said.

While the first responders did not find any apparent injuries to her son, the family has been told to closely monitor the baby in the coming days to ensure injuries do not develop over time.

First responders said that the baby could have been killed or severely injured had he not been strapped into a car seat at the time of the incident.

However, Finch says she is still traumatized and is afraid of taking a walk. "Even when I’m trying not to think about it, I’m thinking about it," she said. "Just hearing me scream for him. My biggest question is why? Why me? I could have been taken from my kids," the woman added.

Police described the crime as an "unprovoked, repeated attack on a mother pushing an infant in a stroller."

Klingler has been charged with two counts of first-degree felony assault and two counts of armed criminal action. She is scheduled to be in court for a hearing on June 8. Her bond is set at $75,000.