Back Seat
Moosehead115 said:
...a baby in the front seat is not a good idea.
I agree with you. I believe that statistically, the rear seat is a much safer place to be for any child (with or without Automatic Occupant Sensing / Airbag Suppression) :
"AIR BAG KILLS INFANT IN CRASH
By ROCHELLE BRENNER Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
308 words
5 April 2005
The Palm Beach Post
FINAL
1B
English
Copyright 2005. The Palm Beach Post, All Rights Reserved.
A 2-month-old baby boy died in a car crash after an air bag deployed into the back of his car seat, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
William Brown died shortly after midnight Monday at Delray Medical Center, while his mother, Daisy Natal, was treated for minor injuries.
Natal, 19, who lives west of Greenacres, could face charges for the crash, said investigator David Rander.
Natal was driving a 1997 Saturn without a license when she failed to stop for traffic on South Congress Avenue south of Lake Worth Road around noon Sunday. She rear-ended a stopped Pontiac Firebird, and the impact was hard enough to push the Firebird into a stopped vehicle in front of it, the sheriff's office said.
The other drivers were not injured, but the Firebird and Saturn had to be towed from the scene.
Even though there is no law banning children from traveling in a seat with an air bag, all child carriers have warning labels and brochures instructing people not to place children in a front seat equipped with an air bag.
William was in the front passenger seat next to Natal in a rear-facing child carrier. Rander said he is still investigating, and could not immediately say whether William was strapped in at the time of the crash.
Rander said the sheriff's office will investigate what charges Natal could face, but prosecutors will most likely consider that Natal has already suffered serious consequences.
"She's paid the ultimate price already," Rander said. "She's understandably distraught and upset."
Relatives at Natal's home on Lucerne Lakes Boulevard declined to comment.
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