Driver in crash had child on her lap, police say

Phoebe Morgan, 28, was charged with the reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.

A High Falls woman was arrested after crashing her vehicle into a utility pole on state Route 213 with her 8-yearold daughter on her lap, town police said Monday.

The mother and child suffered minor injuries and were taken to the MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, police said.

Phoebe Morgan, 28, was charged with the misdemeanors of reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child, and the infractions of not wearing a seat belt (two counts) and failure to stay in lane, according to Rosendale Police Chief Perry Soule.

Soule said Morgan was charged at 10:30 a.m. Thursday as a result of an investigation of the crash, which happened at 3:12 p.m. Wednesday. The chief said Morgan came to the police station voluntarily.

Morgan was driving with “an overfilled passenger compartment,” allowing her 8-year-old to sit on her lap, police said. They also said child was not seat belted.

Morgan lost control of the vehicle after becoming distracted by a cat in the vehicle, Soule said. As a result, he said, she drove off the road and struck the pole.

Morgan was released with tickets to appear in Rosendale Town Court.