Oxnard Man Accidentally Runs Over, Kills Baby Daughter

An Oxnard man accidentally ran over and killed his 18-month-old daughter Monday morning in the alley behind their home, police said.

Felipe Serrato, 22, had backed his 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass into the alley behind the 1200 block of West Fir Avenue, police traffic investigator Jeff Shelton said.

As Serrato pulled forward, Adeline Serrato ran from the fenced yard and was struck by the car.

“He didn’t see her,” Shelton said. “It happened so fast.”

Adeline was pronounced dead at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard at 11:35 a.m., about 45 minutes after the accident.

An autopsy was pending, but Deputy Coroner Dale Zentzis said the cause of death appeared to be head injuries.

No charges were filed, Shelton said. “It wasn’t his fault,” he said.

The baby’s mother did not see the accident but was home when it occurred, Shelton said, adding that the mother is seven months pregnant.

“The whole family has been destroyed,” Serrato’s brother, Melchor Serrato, said in a telephone interview.

Speaking in Spanish as the parents and other family members sobbed in the background, he said that Felipe Serrato is a farm worker and that the couple have no other children.

“It’s a sad one,” Zentzis said. “The poor dad . . . that would be awful.”