UNIONTOWN, Md. (AP) — Authorities in Maryland have charged a Utah man with attempted murder after a New Year’s Day dispute that left his father and 22-month-old niece with head injuries.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office says Stephen Morningstar, 34, of Orem, Utah, became agitated while visiting family in Uniontown after his mother’s death. The sheriff’s office says Morningstar grabbed his niece and threw her onto the driveway, then hit his father in the head.

The girl is being treated for a fractured skull and she is expected to recover. Morningstar’s father was treated at a local
hospital and released. Morningstar was treated for a broken ankle at Shock Trauma and charged after his release Wednesday night with attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment. He’s being held on $100,000 bail.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)