Man Whose Niece Was Run Over, Killed by Car Won’t Face Charges

A Lawndale man whose 2-year-old niece was struck and killed by his car after he left the vehicle idling in his driveway will not be charged, officials said Monday.

Carlos Figueroa, 24, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter on Saturday, the day after his 2-year-old stepson climbed into his idling Cadillac, shifted the transmission into gear and sent the car rolling over Esmeralda Figueroa, who died the next day. Her 4-year-old sister, Dora, was injured.

Prosecutors called the the incident “an unfortunate accident.” Esmeralda’s father, who is Carlos Figueroa’s brother, agreed.

“I don’t blame my brother,” Filemon Figueroa, 30, said Monday.

Carlos Figueroa was about to drive from his home on Prairie Avenue to pick up his paycheck at a local bakery when he paused to grab a shirt from the garage, Filemon Figueroa said.

Filemon Figueroa said he was was in the garage with his wife, Yolanda, and his brother when the car crashed through the door.

“I heard a scream from outside,” he said. “I trembled and shook, and I had no idea my girls were in the way.”

The car pinned Yolanda Figueroa against the back of the garage but she was not injured, Filemon Figueroa said.

Several families live in the small stucco home and its garage but Carlos Figueroa is the only resident with a job, family members say. At the time of the accident, Carlos Figueroa had an outstanding arrest warrant for driving without a license, and he will face charges in connection with that incident, officials said.