Baby Dies After Getting Hit by Car in Family’s Driveway

A police car in a file photo. (Diego Parra/Pixabay)

A baby in Indiana was hit by a vehicle that was pulling into a driveway, police said.

The 5-month-old was hit on Monday, Aug. 19 and police were called just before 5 p.m. regarding the incident.

The baby was rushed to the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis but was pronounced dead on Tuesday.

Investigators said a preliminary probe found that the child was in a baby seat that had been placed on the driveway. The baby’s mother went inside and when the father pulled a car into the driveway, he ran over the baby because he did not see the child.

“Her mother stepped inside and at that point the father pulled into the driveway, not seeing the infant, striking the infant with his car,” Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer Genae Cook told the Indianapolis Star. “They immediately called for help.”

This is a “tragic incident,” Cook said.

Photographs published by WTHR showed the baby carrier next to the driveway and a red pickup truck in the driveway, with police tape around the area.

Police said the parents were cooperating with investigators, reported WTHR.

Toddler Killed by Car

A toddler was hit by a car in Texas on Aug. 14.

Alan Villeda, 18 months old, was trailing his mother in a parking lot outside an apartment complex in Houston when he was hit by a car.

The situation was captured on surveillance camera and police later charged 18-year-old Gissel Vazquez, the boy’s mother, with endangering a child, reported KPRC. Video showed she went inside with one of three children who were with her, leaving the other two, including Alan, outside.

Nearly two minutes passed as Alan lay on the ground before Vasquez came running over, reported KTRK. She picks him up and screams.

She appeared before a judge on Aug. 15 and her bond was set at $10,000. She posted bail and was released, reported KPRC.

She now needs to have only supervised visits with her other child.

The driver was questioned and released for now.

Infant, Child, and Teen Mortality Statistics

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the infant mortality rate declined 6.75 infant deaths per 1,000 births in 2007 to 6.07 in 2011 and slightly declined to 5.87 per 1,000 births through 2016.

Infant mortality is the death of an infant before his or her first birthday.

“The infant mortality rate is the number of infant deaths for every 1,000 live births. In addition to giving us key information about maternal and infant health, the infant mortality rate is an important marker of the overall health of a society,” the CDC stated.

The five leading causes of infant death in 2017, the last year statistics were available for, were: birth defects, preterm birth and low birth weight, maternal pregnancy complications, sudden infant death syndrome, and injuries such as suffocation.

The highest mortality rates were in South Dakota, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.