Crash kills infant ejected from van

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Starlight

Senior Community Member
How awful.

I'm so glad g-ma will get charged. Mom should be too. Even at 16, she should have known better. There is no excuse for neither the baby NOR the seat being buckled in.
 

Dsunny1

CPST Instructor
When I read about these things I see RED... It makes me so mad such a sensless thing happened. How can someone NOT protect thier child that way.
 

southpawboston

New member
not only could it have been preventable by having the child harnessed, but also if the driver had been driving responsibly:

Alexander said the driver was on her cell phone at the time of the crash. She reportedly failed to yield the right of way, pulled out in front of a southbound 2001 Chrysler Concorde, which tried to avoid the van but hit the left front wheel of the van and then struck a 1991 Nissan 240SX stopped in the northbound left turn lane, pushing it backwards.

we should be as angry about her driving as we are about the carseat not being fastened!
 

Starlight

Senior Community Member
My dh says we shouldn't punish the driver (g-ma) but the mother.

I think they should both be punished - the driver, because it's her responsiblity to ensure that her passengers are buckled properly - and the mother, because she's the mother!!!

I'm so mad at this.
 

southpawboston

New member
My dh says we shouldn't punish the driver (g-ma) but the mother.

what??!! not punish the g-mom for not yielding the right of way and talking on the cell phone??!! you bet she should be punished... not just for not ensuring the passengers were buckled but for driving carelessly.
 

beebear23

Senior Community Member
How STUPID could they possibly be?? Both of them!!!! there is NO excuse for that!!

Reminds me of the time I stopped at a gas station and next to us were 2 women and an infant. The grandma was driving and the mom was int he backseat w/the baby. no car seat at all in the car. the mom was holding the baby and I hear grandma say "well maybe she'd be happier if you turned her around so she could see".. AAAAAHHHHHHH! I would have said something, but g-ma looked mean and like she'd squash me. And my mom and my son were w/me. Didn't have a chance to get the license plate # either... :(

It's so sad that people care so little aobut thier precious children...
 

Morganthe

New member
I guess it's just me, but I honestly believe that a 16 year old mother will be 'punished' enough by the death of her child. Obviously, she cared enough about her child to have her (not abortion) and keep her (no adoption). There's not much else that a governing authority can do to make her feel any worse as far as I'm concerned. We don't even know the circumstances of her health. I know a woman that at 3 weeks post partum still could not carry or install their child safely because of stitches or infection. So the grandmother could have done all the work.

The problem with being a teenager is that unless constantly 'trained' to think so, future consequences of current actions are extremely difficult for them to predict. It's part of brain growth that is reached between 20-24 years of age.

Now the grandmother -- not ensuring all passengers are buckled in properly, talking on the cell phone, & not yielding the right of way (which always sounds so unimportant until people DIE)-- Throw the law book at her. She's the one who did not set the example or teach her daughter how to properly buckle up. Nor was she even concentrating on keeping her passengers safe by using good driving skills. She endangered 2 other cars with her careless driving.
She's the one who is entirely at fault in the eyes of the law imho.
 

scatterbunny

New member
I agree that the grandmother is the one at fault, mostly. At 16, even if I had a baby, I would still trust what my mother said to do. If my mom thought it was fine to not install the baby's seat, I doubt I would know enough and have enough guts to argue.
 

rlsadc

Senior Community Member
I agree that the grandmother is the one at fault, mostly. At 16, even if I had a baby, I would still trust what my mother said to do. If my mom thought it was fine to not install the baby's seat, I doubt I would know enough and have enough guts to argue.

I am pretty strong headed, and I do what I want no matter what my mom says...however if I wasnt so strong minded I would probably trust whatever she told me, too. I do agree the the gma is tottally in the wrong not checking to make sure everyone (let alone herself) was restrained. I agree that the mother (and gma) both probably feel absolutely horrible and devasted and if given the chance would change things. If something were to happen to Aleah because of my own ignorace, jail would be nothing. The thought of losing her makes me cry, I dont even want to imagine what I would be if something really did happen. (But when I first read articles like these...I am so upset, I tend to not think on both sides of the picture)
 
The authorities obviously have reason to suspect alcohol; the article said charges were still pending, awaiting the results of her BAC testing.

I doubt alcohol was involved for some reason... time of day maybe? But I have a feeling it was just reckless stupidity on the part of the grandmother. :mad:

I can't even imagine the horror of a newborn baby being ejected in a rollover... :(

Ugh. Off to go have a good cry. :(
 

MySillyKids

New member
I agree. BOTH of them should get in some kind of child endagerment or something.

chaoticoctopus, I love your sig. I had a good chuckle out of it. ;) Cute family!
 

mommyoftwoboys

New member
Ok, I do want to say something, Only because I do know this has accidently happened. I know once, in a hurry, we started to back out, without having our son fully buckled, (but we caught it rather quickly) And it was a complete accident.
While I do believe that it wasn't the case, if it was, I would think the death of the baby is alot already. However, as they stated what they were charging her with, I agree with. she was on a cell phone, and wasn't paying attention. (this is why if you have a freakin cell phone and your driving, use a headset, or bluetooth, or freakin use the speaker phone feature. So yes the grandmother most definately was at fault for that. I know I have caught my mom putting in my kids in their seats and it was the correct way. Which is usually why I put my kids in myself rather than allowing them to if I am there.
But I also know that when I had my first son ( I was 20 years old) I asked my mom ALOT. nothing on car seats though, because apparently, I didn't even have a car seat as a baby. (Glad I survived) . I agree with what others have said though, the reason why a 16 year old shouldn't have children, is because they really aren't ready, and she did care enough to have the baby, bbut its rare that a 16 year old does know exactly what they are doing. Not saying that they all can't or aren't good mothers, but they look to their mothers for help, so it really should all fall on the grandmother.

Either way its horrible that it happened.
 

beebear23

Senior Community Member
I have also forgotten to buckle my son in once. Discovered it 3 blocks down the busy road. :(

But I also know a mom at a daycare I used to work at in college who routinly put her children in their car seats w/o buckling them in. Her oldest(a whole 1 year old) would sit in the front seat w/a seatbelt on.. pointless seatbelt. I think she did just so he would climb over the seats. Then the baby was born and my friend and I watched as she put the infant in the car seat(which was RF, surprisingly enough) and din't buckle him in. She just drove off like that. On purpose. She did that all the time. By the time I got married a few yrs. later I saw her and her then 4-5 kids w/no carseats in the car at all. Her car was a Ford Focus....
 

CandCfam

New member
:(

I'm so sick of hearing about pure ignorance causing the deaths of children.

Just today I called 911 because some lady with a maybe 2 year old who just climbed into the back of the car, no safety seat, no seatbelt, no booster, no nothing. I was already getting their car information down because of what I had seen her doing with this child prior to this, I had fears that she would be an unrestrained child. I can only hope that the police were able to find that car as she was leaving while I was calling, and I couldn't follow her because I was outside waiting for my husband and daughter to come out of a doctor appt.

:(
 

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