A 17-month-old Westminster boy was killed Sunday when his father lost control of the family car and it crashed into a mailbox, state police said.

Robert A. Toms, 20, of the 600 block of Johahn Drive was eastbound on Bloom Road in Westminster about 3 p.m. when his Geo Metro swerved off the road, hit a metal mailbox, skidded through a fence and came to rest in a field, police said. The mailbox smashed through a window and struck the head of Toms' son, Bryan A. Toms.

The baby, who was strapped into his car seat, was pronounced dead at Carroll County General Hospital.

Toms was charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and was being held at the Carroll County Detention Center yesterday.

Toms and the child's mother, Angela Moffitt, 20, also of Westminster, were not injured, police said.

Pub Date: 9/08/98