A Michigan father is facing multiple charges after authorities say he abandoned his 1-year-old daughter with people he barely knew, only to return hours later intoxicated and put the child through an ordeal that shook even a veteran prosecutor.
Kabamba E. Kyalangalilwa, 35, has been charged with two counts of child abuse, along with child abandonment, reckless driving, and driving on a suspended license, according to court records.
Officials with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office say the case traces back to June 28 on Detroit’s west side. Kyalangalilwa reportedly brought his daughter to a gathering on Braile Street late that morning, then walked her over to a nearby home and asked strangers to watch her while their kids swam, before heading back to the party himself.
Roughly five hours passed before he returned, authorities allege, this time intoxicated and riding a motorcycle. He picked up his daughter from the unfamiliar family and placed her on the bike without any safety restraint, prosecutors said.
What followed was a high-speed loss of control that sent both father and child skidding across the pavement. The toddler hit her head on a curb, leaving her with injuries to her head, face and legs that required hospital treatment. Rather than staying with his injured daughter, officials say Kyalangalilwa tried to flee in a car before abandoning it and running away on foot.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said she has rarely, if ever, encountered a case like it in her career, calling the alleged conduct far beyond anything acceptable and adding that it was nothing short of remarkable that the child survived.
Detroit police appealed to the public for help locating him and urged him to turn himself in, while Child Protective Services opened a separate investigation.
Kyalangalilwa was arraigned July 15, initially held on a $100,000 bond. That was later reduced to a $25,000 personal bond with GPS monitoring and a curfew. His preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 20.