Woman drove from California to Tacoma while child died in backseat, charges say
A Kirkland mother is accused of not getting her Type 1 diabetic daughter proper care during a family road trip, which led to the girl’s death in July.
Prosecutors in King County charged Lloydina McAllister, 42, with first-degree manslaughter in her 10-year-old daughter’s death from July 18.
Tayleona Gunn of Kirkland died from diabetic ketoacidosis due to diabetes mellitus. Her manner of death was ruled a homicide, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office wrote in a news release.
McAllister is accused of traveling from Northern California to a Tacoma hospital while her daughter was dying in the backseat. After the girl arrived at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, prosecutors wrote, she was already dead and rigor mortis had set in, according to charging documents.
Prosecutors wrote that on July 16 Tayleona’s insulin pump showed that she had high blood-glucose levels. The next morning, McAllister, her three children and her boyfriend went on a road trip to California. The girl’s condition reportedly worsened, and they turned the car to head north to Tacoma after they reached Sacramento.
Documents show that McAllister’s texted her mother, who works at Mary Bridge. She texted her mother at about 10 a.m. that they were on the way from California and that her daughter was going through diabetic keoacidosis, or a serious complication from diabetes. When they were around one hour and 45 minutes away, documents show, she called her mother and asked her to get a bed ready for Tayleona.
McAllister drove around 700 miles and passed 31 hospitals before she got to Tacoma, documents show. No calls to 911 were made, and there were no searches for nearby hospitals or urgent care locations, according to cell records.
Prosecutors wrote Tayleona was dead by the time she got to the hospital at 1:50 p.m.. She allegedly was dead for several hours in the back seat of the car with her two siblings alongside her.
Documents show that McAllister blamed her daughter for forgetting her “life-saving kit” at home. She also told Kirkland police that she did not take her daughter to a hospital or call 911 because she was not allowed to take Gunn out of state, per the parenting plan she had with the girl’s father.
Tayleona was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic in 2018, and documents show she had been admitted to the hospital four times for diabetic keoacidosis.
Documents allege McAllister failed to provide life-saving care despite having extensive education and training on the life-threatening risks of prolonged periods of high blood sugar for a child with Type 1 diabetes.
McAllister pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge after her arrest on Nov. 4.
