Dad gets 28 years for leaving daughter to die in burning car

A US man who left his 19-month-old daughter to die in a burning car during a police chase was given 28 years in prison after pleading guilty.

Imhotep O. Norman of Spartanburg in South Carolina was sentenced on Tuesday, according to the office of 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette. News outlets reported that officers tried to stop him for speeding in April 2019 as flames and smoke spewed from his car.

Instead, Norman drove over the median of Highway 14 and onto Interstate 85, where troopers forced him into the right lane. Then he jumped from the burning vehicle and as he ran away, a trooper saw him toss a backpack that held illegal drugs, the solicitor's office said.

Imhotep Norman and his 19-month-old daughter, Xena Norman. Photos / Supplied

Firefighters found his daughters body after extinguishing the fire. Xena Norman died from burns and acute carbon monoxide poisoning, the office said.

The toddler's father, who was arrested hours after fleeing into the woods, told investigators he thought the pursuing officers would rescue her.

Flames could clearly be seen, despite Norman's claims that he didn't know it was on fire. Photo / Supplied

Norman previously appeared before a Spartanburg County judge back in 2019 for a bond hearing, just a day after his daughter was killed.

Norman told the judge: "I just know that the car wasn't on fire when I got out the car. I would have stayed in that car with my daughter."

"I would have never got out the car while the car was on fire. I seen sparks coming from under the tyres when I tried to stop and I couldn't stop at that point."

Shocking video captured by police disputes that claim, showing flames spewing from the car as the chase proceeded.

Norman, 28, pleaded guilty of homicide by child abuse, failure to stop for blue lights and sirens, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, trafficking methamphetamine and possession with the intent to distribute amphetamine, possession of oxycodone and possession of Xanax. He will have to serve 85 per cent of his sentence before he's eligible for release, the solicitor's office said.

- AP, additional reporting NZ Herald