Randolph County man charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering welfare of child

A Randolph County man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child after his girlfriend died in a vehicle crash.

According to the probable cause statement, Nichole Ashbaker was driving on June 10 with her four children and her boyfriend, Danny Bowen. She was driving on Route C near Huntsville when she crashed the vehicle. Ashbaker was ejected from the vehicle and died from her injuries. The children suffered minor injuries and Bowen suffered moderate injuries.

Bowen said that he was on his cell phone at the time of the crash and that Ashbaker swerved to avoid hitting a rabbit in the road.

During an interview with Rainbow House in Columbia, one of the children said that Bowen and Ashbaker were arguing and another child said that Bowen was hitting Ashbaker and tried to grab the steering wheel from her, which caused Ashbaker to crash.