Baby Killed in Crash; Car-Seat Use Probed

By Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Jun. 1–A rollover crash in St. Paul’s North End on Wednesday left an 8-month-old baby dead in the street.

The infant was apparently ejected from a Chevrolet Blazer, police said. Investigators are working to determine if a car seat was properly used and installed.

Calvin Chau, who owns Paris Nails at Rice Street and Orange Avenue, heard the two-vehicle crash outside the store about 2:15 p.m. He ran to the site and saw the Blazer on its roof. A man and woman were inside. When Chau tried to open a door to get them out, it wouldn’t budge, he said. The two crawled out a window.

The baby’s body lay in the street nearby. Bystanders attempted to keep the man and woman away, so they wouldn’t see the blood around the infant, Chau said.

“The woman was screaming, ‘My baby!’ and the man was just speechless,” Chau said.

Paramedics declared the baby dead at the scene. Police didn’t release the infant’s name or gender, but Chau said the child was a girl.

The woman in the SUV, who witnesses said was pregnant, was taken to a hospital to be evaluated for minor injuries.

A preliminary investigation indicates the Blazer was traveling east on Orange Avenue when the driver failed to yield the right of way and collided with a Nissan Quest going northbound on Rice Street, police said.

Investigators are reconstructing the crash to determine the exact sequence of events, but neither excessive speed nor drugs or alcohol are believed to have been factors, police said.

“This is a very sad tragedy,” said police Chief John Harrington. “It is another reminder of how important it is for us to reduce the risk to our children by taking the time to properly install and use child safety seats.”

Research has shown that as many as nine of 10 child-safety seats are improperly installed, police said.

Mara H. Gottfried covers St. Paul public safety. She can be reached at mgottfried@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5262.

Safety-seat clinics

The St. Paul Police Department partners with the Minnesota Safety Council to regularly offer free child-safety seat clinics. More information is available at 651-228-7329 or www.buckleupkids.state.mn.us.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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