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Infant Thrown From Car in Crash Dies

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A 3-month-old boy died Sunday after the vehicle in which he was riding stopped for a traffic light and was struck from behind by a drunk driver, police said.

Jose Millan of Tujunga was thrown from the car at 7:46 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of Fernando Road and Paxton Street. He was transported by ambulance to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills and later airlifted to Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles, said a spokeswoman there. He died Sunday evening, according to police.

Armando Gamez, 25, of North Hollywood, was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony drunken driving, said Officer Norman Nagengast of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division. Gamez was being held Sunday night at Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail, said Officer Gary Weller. Weller said the booking was expected to be upgraded to manslaughter. There was an infant car seat in the vehicle, Nagengast said, but it was unclear whether the child was strapped into it at the time of the accident. The boy’s father, Jose Millan Sr., was driving the car, according to police.

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Witnesses reported that the car with the child was stopped at an intersection when the vehicle driven by Gamez rammed it from behind. The impact set off a chain reaction that involved two more vehicles, Nagengast said.

Occupants of the other cars complained of injuries, according to officials, but only the child was transported to a hospital.

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