A Vernon Township man has pleaded "not guilty" to DUI after his arrest for allegedly running over a 16-month-old girl.

Investigators say 55-year-old Calvin Barger had a blood alcohol level of 0.094 when he was arrested on Sunday. In Ohio, the law considers a driver to be intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of .08.

During an arraignment in Trumbull County Eastern District Court on Tuesday, Barger entered no plea to the felony charge of aggravated vehicular homicide. His bond was set at $75,000.

A rescue squad was called to an address on Milligan East Road in Vernon Township at around 6 p.m. Sunday after a woman called 9-1-1 to report that her granddaughter had been run over. 

The child was flown to Akron Children's Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The Summit County Medical Examiner, who identified the child as 16-month-old Kaleeha Queen, of Warren, said the child died from head injuries but has yet to rule on whether her death was accidental or otherwise.

 

Calvin Barger
Calvin Barger  

Barger told deputies he had three to four drinks while working on a home improvement project with a relative.

"The last time he saw the child, the child was playing on a swing set in a side yard," Joe Dragovich said, chief deputy of the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office. "The child ended up in front of that vehicle as he was pulling out."

Barger's wife and the child's grandmother were home at the time.

The toddler's uncle Calvin Barger III tells 21 News that the family is devastated by their loss and that Kalleeha was "the happiest girl you would ever meet".

“We understand bad things happen and this is a bad accident. We are trying to figure out how to get through this,” Kayla Queen, Kalleeha's mother said.

Barger's next court hearing is set for Thursday.