Baby Dies 8 Months After Being Saved From Accident
A baby delivered after his mother was fatally injured in a traffic crash last year has died, authorities said Monday.
An autopsy Monday revealed that 8-month-old Kendrick Lee died from complications of pneumonia caused by maternal trauma in the accident, which happened last May in Newport Beach.
The baby had been admitted to Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange on Saturday and was put on life support, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at 3:54 p.m. Sunday.
“The injuries had been conveyed to the baby from trauma to the mother during the car crash,” said Cullen Ellenburg, Orange County supervising deputy coroner.
Police said the boy’s mother, Lynth Lee, 24, of Santa Ana, and her husband, Mao Siv Chea, 26, were involved in a crash at 28th Street and West Balboa Boulevard. Their Toyota Corolla collided with a Chevrolet Suburban.
Paramedics transported Lee to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, where Kendrick Lee was delivered by emergency caesarean section. The mother died at the hospital.
Chea and the occupants of the other vehicle were treated at the scene or at local hospitals and released. No charges were filed in the crash, which officials ruled was accidental.
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