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Dallas Man Charged After Toddler Dies From Airbag During Crash
Posted on Apr 26, 2011
A Dallas man has been arrested after an 18-month-old girl was killed in a car wreck after an airbag deployed.
The fatal Texas car accident took place late on Sunday night on Webb Chapel Extension when 24-year-old Gerardo Moreno swerved to miss hitting another car and slammed into a utility pole, deploying the pickup truck’s air bags. A 17-year-old mother was sitting in the passenger seat and wearing a seat belt with her daughter, Yeneisy Maldonada, unrestrained on her lap. The child suffered fatal blunt force trauma when the mother was pushed forward from the collision and the airbag pushed back.
Moreno fled the scene of the car accident soon after it happened, leaving the young mother and injured baby behind – probably because he is not a legal United State citizen. He turned himself into police later that night. As of Monday afternoon, he has been charged with manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury. The mother of the child will not be charged because the driver of the car is responsible for making certain that their passengers are properly restrained under the law.
Local reports said that the girl’s mother was from Mexico, where there are no child restraint laws. Young children should always be properly restrained in a child safety seat – and parents should understand that the force of an airbag deploying can kill young children even if they are in child seats.
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