MOULTRIE – A minivan traveling 30-40 miles per hour on Saturday night had a door malfunction causing a Colquitt County woman to fall from the vehicle and be airlifted to Tallahassee Hospital.

“The initial call was for medical,” said criminal investigator Will Pierce, who works at the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office. “But when we got there we realized more was going on.”

The driver, who was the victim’s husband, blew a 0.124 on the Breathalyzer after officers suspected he was driving under the influence, Pierce said.

The couple’s 2-year-old son in the third row of the vehicle. Deputies said none of the occupants were wearing seatbelts.

The child was unharmed. He was placed in the care of his mother’s family while she recovers in the hospital and his father was arrested.

While traveling down the road, the left sliding door on the minivan unlatched and opened, catching the mom off guard and causing her to slip from the moving vehicle, Pierce said.

“We were told the door had been broken for a while and didn’t work correctly,” he said. “After looking at the vehicle everything did line up with that.”

However, in doing their due diligence, investigators spoke with the mother after Tallahassee Hospital cleared her for police visitors.

“She couldn’t remember anything from that night because she has a very severe concussion,” said Pierce. “However, she stated that she and her husband had a good relationship and didn’t have major problems.”

Records showed the husband has no prior arrests or history of domestic dispute.

“This does really appear to be a situation where the door really malfunctioned,” said Pierce. “However, because he was driving under the influence and his wife had to be life flighted to Tallahassee that’s why he got the serious injury by vehicle charge.”

The husband also got charged with: endangering a child by driving under the influence, child restraint law and driving without a valid license.

Other than the concussion the mom sustained only minor injuries and Pierce said her brain scans came back normal.

She should be released from Tallahassee hospital soon, he said.