Boy with no seat belt or car seat dies in SUV rollover
A 5-year-old boy riding in the backseat of an SUV died when it rolled onto its roof, authorities said Wednesday.
The boy was not in a car seat and was not wearing a seatbelt, sheriff’s officials said.
Det. Jeff Perkins of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department said the SUV damage was “not significant enough to cause any serious injury.”
He said the boy might have survived if he had been appropriately restrained.
The boy’s 19-year-old brother, Fabian Pineda, was driving the 1999 Chevrolet Suburban, according to officials.
Pineda was driving down 25th Street East in Palmdale on Tuesday, and when he approached the intersection at Avenue Q-4, he swerved to the right to avoid rear-ending a vehicle that had stopped in front of him to turn left, Perkins said.
The tires on the right side of Pineda’s SUV consequently veered off the paved road onto the dirt shoulder, and the SUV rolled and slid in the dirt, he said.
The boy’s body was ejected part-way through a window that appeared to have been rolled down, Perkins said. According to officials, the boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver and his 14-year-old brother were taken to Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center for reported pain following the accident. Both were released to their parents, sheriff’s officials said.
No alcohol was involved and no arrests have been made, Perkins said. The investigation was ongoing.
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Twitter: @emfoxhall
emily.foxhall@latimes.com
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