2-year-old dies after falling from car

[cocomod]

This is a very sad story I just read in my local paper.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=17531284

OGDEN — A 2-year-old boy died Tuesday afternoon from injuries he received when he fell out of a moving vehicle.

Mom says that the child was buckled in. Child apparently unbuckled himself, opened the door while his mommy was driving, and then fell out of the moving car. The car ran him over.

Martinez sustained serious head and internal injuries and died at the scene. Police say a medical examiner will have to determine whether he was run over by the vehicle.

 

[Steely Dan]

That poor mother. That's gotta be horrifying.

 

[bogeygal]

My prayers go out to the little boy's mother & family. Heartbreaking.

 

[Hunnie]

That's terrible , but isn't 2 years old a little too young for a booster? Isn't there a weight & height regulation law that they have to reach before the switch? anyone know?

 

[Disguiseduser0308]

Here's a listing of State laws for child restraint. ETA: Booster seats/belt positioning boosters have requirements listed on the seat and box it's purchased in. He may have been fine in the booster provided he met the requirements for it.

http://www.iihs.org/laws/childrestraint.aspx

Prayers to the family. What a devastating accident.

 

[Chewy]

My son got out of a car seat when he was 10 months old and I was driving up the highway pretty fast. I was hysterical. Thank god there were autolocks. But he crawled right between the front seat. Scary as hell. That's why when people say in the Sky threads that he couldn't have gotten out of his car seat, I know otherwise.

 

[Shadow205]

First of all, my most sincere thoughts and prayers go out to this family. I also have a 2 year old escape artist(grand daughter). She can get out of anything and has. We just bought a new car seat (3rd one) in hopes that she can't get out of it. We put a safety baby gate that latches at the bottom of our stairs. She figured out how to open it before I did.

 

[Chewy]

That's what we used to call my son. The Escape Artist.

One time my mother tied him to one of these little plastic chairs with several pairs of pantyhose just to see if he could get out, it took him like 5 seconds.

 

[tk71texas]

this happened to me when i was 3yrs old. Back in the day (the early 70's) when there was no auto locks and not really strict seat belt laws, i fell out of the car. We had pulled into a station off the freeway and i started to get out of our station wagon but my mom said no. The door came open to where it's latched but not really closed. After we pulled back to the freeway, the door came open and i was hanging from the door handle. It dragged me a bit before i fell underneath the back tire. Car ran over my back diagonally smashing my face down and i bit thru my bottom lip/chin area. No broken bones or anything....doctors said my back curved with the tire. Crazy story and i still have the scars to prove it.

 

[October]

So, so tragic. A 2 year old should NEVER be in a booster. Current recommendations are for rear-facing car seats until at least 2 years old. After that forward-facing car seats, and then boosters around 4 or 5 depending on the size of the child. A child should not be in a booster until they can sit still so the seat belt is correctly positioned. If your child wiggles around a lot (as most 2 year olds do) they are not ready for a booster! My 2 year old is still in a rear-facing seat because it's much safer than forward-facing and she is still comfortable. I cannot fathom putting her in a booster at that age. My 4 and 5 year olds are still in car seats!

I'm not attacking the mother. I'm sure this will haunt her for the rest of her life. I just wish there was better car seat education. All of the information is out there but many people dismiss safety regulations as over the top. It frustrates me so much to see children in improperly installed or incorrect seats. It's not hard to figure out and can be the difference between life and death. Also, modern car seats are much harder to get out of than older seats were. If your child insists on unbuckling themselves there are add-ons you can buy to make it harder for them, such as a prickly adhesive to put on the buttons that makes it difficult for them to open them.

 

[iamnotagolem]

So, so tragic. A 2 year old should NEVER be in a booster. Current recommendations are for rear-facing car seats until at least 2 years old. After that forward-facing car seats, and then boosters around 4 or 5 depending on the size of the child. A child should not be in a booster until they can sit still so the seat belt is correctly positioned. If your child wiggles around a lot (as most 2 year olds do) they are not ready for a booster! My 2 year old is still in a rear-facing seat because it's much safer than forward-facing and she is still comfortable. I cannot fathom putting her in a booster at that age. My 4 and 5 year olds are still in car seats!

I'm not attacking the mother. I'm sure this will haunt her for the rest of her life. I just wish there was better car seat education. All of the information is out there but many people dismiss safety regulations as over the top. It frustrates me so much to see children in improperly installed or incorrect seats. It's not hard to figure out and can be the difference between life and death. Also, modern car seats are much harder to get out of than older seats were. If your child insists on unbuckling themselves there are add-ons you can buy to make it harder for them, such as a prickly adhesive to put on the buttons that makes it difficult for them to open them.

I'm so glad that you posted this! So many children lose their lives needlessly. Children are 500% safer rearfacing, my 3 & 2 y/o are still RFing. Safety is our #1 priority.

It is devastating for this mother, it's most likely she didn't know what carseat her little one should be in. So sad.

 

[Disguiseduser0308]

We would all be safer RF. The ability to operate a vehicle is however impossible in that position. That being said -- we need to be cautious on how we judge others parenting decisions. My son had to be turned FF at one year as he suffered horrible car sickness while RF. We tried everything we could to resolve it for him. The only thing that fixed it was FF. It was a matter of watching him vomit and scream vs. a peaceful ride to wherever we needed to go. It was during this time that extended RF was being discussed as preferred.

While I appreciate and respect others decisions I won't judge this mother. She likely felt she was doing the right thing for her child. Sure, education needs to be there. But, we don't know her individual circumstance for that decision.

I don't know how most of us survived child hood considering the differences in child safety in the 70s & 80s to what is considered safe now.

ETA: Without knowing the height and weight of this child, we cannot say whether or not he should not have been in a booster. The car seats that fit a larger child are often cost prohibitive for many families. It is just as dangerous to have a child in a seat that's too small for him.

JMO and all that jazz.

 

[cocomod]

My son was over the 100% in height his whole life. At one years old, his legs were too long for a rear facing seat. We put him in a FF seat, but it was an actual car seat, not a booster seat.

I can't imagine the pain that this family must feel on this holiday without their precious little one!