Infant Killed in Parklane Road Crash

A 1-year-old boy from Columbia was killed in a crash on Parklane Road late Tuesday night.

Mason Nikolai Nalls, 15 months old, died shortly before midnight at Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital after a single-car collision on Parklane near Clearwater Drive, according to Richland County Coroner Gary Watts.

Nalls was in the backseat of a vehicle driven by his mother's boyfriend, who was caring for the boy while the mother was at work. According to Watts, it appears that the child was in a car seat but it is not known for sure. 

An autopsy conducted Wednesday morning showed Nalls died from trauma associated with the crash.

The boyfriend, who has been identified by the SC Highway Patrol as 24-year-old Justin Johnson, has been charged with felony DUI, child endangerment and simple possession of marijuana.

Johnson was driving a 2007 Mitsubishi west on Parklane Road around 11 p.m. when the vehicle ran off the right side of the road and struck several trees, according to the the highway patrol.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating the wreck.