ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis County man was found guilty on Tuesday for a fatal crash that claimed the lives of his ex-girlfriend and her toddler daughter.

According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s probable cause statement, the crash happened just after midnight on March 6, 2021, at Halls Ferry Circle in the Baden neighborhood.

Police said Carlas Closson Jr., 31, was driving a 2006 PT Cruiser southbound on Lewis and Clark Boulevard at speeds of more than 60 miles per hour while approaching the traffic circle. The listed speed limit is 25 miles per hour.

Closson didn’t stop at the stop sign and struck the curb surrounding the grass median on the inside of Halls Ferry Circle. The car went airborne and hit two trees within the circle.

There were two passengers in the car with Closson: Domonique Hicks and her 1-year-old daughter, Damonnie.

Domonique was rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She was 28.

Damonnie, who police said was in an improperly buckled car seat, died at the hospital days later.

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Closson’s driver’s license was suspended at the time of the crash. The PT Cruiser belonged to Domonique Hicks.

Police said Closson initially claimed he crashed because he was distracted while reaching for cigarettes that he’d dropped on the vehicle’s floorboard.

However, the victims’ relatives said Hicks and Closson had broken up just days before the crash. Police said text messages retrieved from Domonique’s cell phone confirmed the breakup happened on Feb. 20, 2021.

A witness had told police that he’d been with Closson and Hicks on the day of the crash and that the two got into a heated argument, with Closson threatening to crash their vehicle.

At the time, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Closson with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action.

But after a bench trial on August 14, a circuit court judge found Closson not guilty of the two counts for armed criminal action. The same judge convicted Closson on Tuesday of two counts of second-degree involuntary manslaughter.

Closson will be sentenced on October 24.

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