This article was originally published on GoErie.com by Lisa Thompson on May 20, 2016
Nathan A. Taylor (foreground), 21, is accused of assaulting his 4-month-old
son,Draven Taylor, on Feb. 20 and causing severe brain injuries. He was
photographed May 19 at a preliminary hearing before Springfield Township
District Judge Chris MacKendrick. LISA THOMPSON/ERIE TIMES-NEWS
ERIE, Pa. — A Lake City man was ordered held for trial Thursday on all charges he assaulted his 4-month-old son after a doctor testified that an adult, not a 16-month-old girl with a sippy cup, inflicted near fatal brain injuries on the boy in February.
Nathan A. Taylor, 21, faces charges of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault in connection with the Feb. 20 incident that left his son, Draven Taylor, hospitalized and breathing with a ventilator.
Pittsburgh pediatrician Rachel Berger testified via video feed in the preliminary hearing for Taylor before Springfield Township District Judge Chris MacKendrick.
Berger said based on the child’s massive head injuries, she rejected speculation by the boy’s mother, Alexandra J. Zieja, that a 16-month-old girl who was in the home inflicted the injuries with a sippy cup.
She said Draven’s skull fracture and severe brain injury, combined with bleeding and split retinas in his eyes, led her to conclude he suffered some kind of impact and violent shaking by an adult.
The baby’s skull was fractured and his brain so swollen when he arrived at UPMC Hamot on Feb. 20, that part of his skull had to be removed before he was flown by medical helicopter to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC Pittsburgh, Berger testified.
Calling Draven’s cases one of her “most difficult,” she said his brain remains swollen beyond the boundaries of his remaining skull. He is breathing with the help of a ventilator and has no interaction with others, Berger testified.
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