Infant’s Body Found in Wrecked Truck a Week After Crash
The body of a 14-month-old Montclair boy was found Tuesday in the wreckage of pickup truck that crashed a week ago in West Covina while the infant’s mother was being pursued by Azusa police after a minor traffic violation, Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators said.
Deputy Rick Adams said the remains of Mathew Smart were wrapped in a blanket beneath a clutter of personal possessions in the passenger seat of the wrecked vehicle, which had been stored at a tow company’s lot in West Covina.
Police began to search for the infant after the father, Timothy Smart, reported to Montclair police on Monday that he had not seen his estranged wife, Betty Kathline Smart, 29, and the child since Aug. 30.
When Azusa police realized that the missing woman had been involved in the crash last week, Adams said, they contacted San Bernardino County Hospital, where she was undergoing psychiatric evaluation. She reportedly told doctors there that the child might still be in the truck. Police returned to Blackard’s Tow Service at 1611 W. San Bernardino Road, where they found the body.
A coroner’s autopsy was scheduled to determine the cause of the child’s death.
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