Zarion Robinson died at 13 months when a family friend stole and crashed a car he was in. Milwaukee prosecutors filed charges on Wednesday (Feb 1.) against Antwineesha Burse following her hospitalization from the head-on collision that killed the infant.
Burse faces up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted on ‘one count of knowingly operating a motor vehicle without a valid license causing death.’ Prosecutors are reportedly looking into additional charges, revealing that Burse has never had a driver’s license in Wisconsin.
The medical examiner identifies one-year-old Zarion Robinson as the little boy who died in a crash at N. 35th & Hope Ave. late Friday night. His family provided us with these photos💔
Here’s more on the crash: https://t.co/gbxUY1ynQ0 pic.twitter.com/10RqvExWXH
— Hannah Hilyard WISN (@Hannah_WISN) January 30, 2023
Zarion Robinson’s Mother And Police Explain What Led To His Death
The child’s mother, Mikayla Tweedie, spoke to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the Jan. 27 incident. Tweedie described Burse as an “acquaintance” and “family friend” who was in the car with her, Zarion, and her cousin before stealing it.
The mother and her cousin exited the Pontiac G6 at her house to drop off the cousin’s cat. That’s when Burse hopped in the front seat and took off with the infant–a move Mikayla says she still doesn’t understand.
“She took it upon herself to hop in the driver’s seat and pull off with my child in the car. I called her and said I don’t care about the car, I just want my baby back.” Tweedie added, “I knew her well enough to think she wouldn’t do something like that.”
Soon after, Burse crashed the stolen car into a van. Police are still searching for the driver and passengers of the second vehicle, given that they fled the scene on foot.
Though Zarion was strapped into his car seat, it wasn’t secured to the car, per the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office. The MEO also said Burse was likely speeding at the time of impact.
According to Fox6‘s review of the criminal complaint, this is how the crash happened:
“[The minivan] was traveling north in the northbound lanes at the time of the crash, and the Pontiac was traveling southbound and crossed from the southbound lane over into the lef-turn-lane and then into the northbound lane, colliding head-on with the Caravan.”
Following the crash, police found Burse trapped in the front driver’s seat and Robinson in the rear passenger seat with visible forehead injuries, the complaint says. Zarion reportedly died at the hospital.
Family Holds Vigil For Infant Killed In Car Crash
Robinson’s family held a vigil for him on Tuesday evening (Jan. 31). The child’s grandfather, Donnie Thomas, spoke to Fox6 Milwaukee about Zarion’s passing, Burse’s actions, and deserved consequences.
“At the end of the day, we all make mistakes, but this wasn’t no mistake here,” Thomas said.
Zarion’s father, Eddie Anthony, told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he wants justice for his infant’s death.
“I want to see justice, I do. I want to see justice. He didn’t deserve it, he had a lot of life ahead of him. Like I said, gone but never forgotten, but it’s a lot of heartache that we will never get over. Everybody’s going to think about it every day, every minute, every second. So it’s tough, it’s hard.”
Both mother and father described Zarion Robinson’s personality as “fun…innocent…playful” with a “beautiful smile.”
