Posted on 05/04/2007 9:43:22 AM PDT by bedolido
NEW YORK — A young mother's car left out of gear accidentally rolled over her only son and killed him, a year after her soldier husband was killed in Iraq, relatives and police said.
"It's a tragedy for all my family," said Evelyn Mercedes, 65, the soldier's grandmother. "My grandson dies. Now, this happens to the baby."
Christopher Mercedes, who turned 1 last month, slipped from his mom's arms as she got out of the sport utility vehicle that began rolling because it was in neutral gear rather than park, police said.
"She was hysterical, crying out, 'Somebody help me _ he's all I have,'" said neighbor Olga Rodriguez.
Witnesses, including an off-duty firefighter, said they tried unsuccessfully to revive the boy.
"The child wasn't breathing," said the firefighter, Luis Cruz. "I began rescue breaths. I lost the pulse."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I’m at a loss for words.
Tragedy. THIS is tragedy...not Anna Nicole Smith. This family just cannot get a break.
Prayers up to Heaven for this poor mother and all the Merecedes family.
Some serious questions have to be asked.
I too am at a lose for words. Prayers for the baby & the families. ~Pandora~
How tragic. My heart breaks for the mom. I hope her family gives her the strength to deal with it.
Please visit the Kids in Cars web-site. This incident makes 51 child deaths due to automobile negligence so far this year.
O my God. O my God.
That's a whole lot of carelessness all at the same time.
God bless that fallen hero and the little son he never knew.
Precisely.
If the facts are as reported, this is not a quality mom.
Dear God. This is just unimaginable. God bless and hold close this woman and her family. I pray that she eventually somehow finds a way to recover from all of this.
They know each other now ... they're together.
That's true. It is good that God is so merciful.
This is too awful for words. The poor baby and family!
The link is www.KidsinCars.org
oh my god
I don't see anything in this article that implies that the child was not in a car seat. He slips out of her arms as she's getting out...that's it. There's nothing in this article to convict the mom of any negligence.
Prayers for this grieving wife and mother. Her words "He's all I have" are heartbreaking.
Have you never held a squirming one year old?
I grieve for this mother who has lost a husband and son.
It doesn’t add up in my mind. I tend to think the car would have rolled long before she had a chance to get the child out of the car seat. I hope I’m wrong.
I've never dropped her.
And, like any responsible parent, I hold her tighter when I'm around cars, machinery and staircases.
Well - you should get out more.
Good grief.
I don’t understand something. If the car was in neutral and was in a position that caused it to roll, how come it wasn’t rolling while she was taking him out of the car? I know with my van, the very few times I have had it neutral, I knew before I got out. Besides, I can’t take my keys out of the ignition if the van isn’t in park. They won’t come out.
Exactly.
“I don’t see anything in this article that implies...”
I don’t either. Let’s show a little FR compassion here and leave the fault-finding, if there is fault to be found, to the authorities. Jeez, people. This is a heartbreaking story.
Excellent question.
Besides, I can’t take my keys out of the ignition if the van isn’t in park. They won’t come out.
Excellent point.
A meaningless comment.
Presumably in your extensive outings you frequently encounter people who drop kids under rolling cars?
Compassion should be focused primarily on the poor little child who lost his life.
I used to think that the worst types these kinds of stories drug out were those that used them as opportunities to trumpet, loud and long, their uber parenting skills. Stupid me forgot the conspiracy theorists looking to satisfy their appetite for ... well... conspiracies.
the tragedy to this family is horrific. If there are no other siblings, the birth line of this family has been stopped.
No more from this family forever... I pray this is not the case.
The article implies, but does not say if the child was in a car seat.
Depending on the vehicle and its age, the woman may have thought that the transmission was in park. The linkages on old automatic transmissions can get sloppy and not fully engage, or partially engage and slip out.
It may be that she was removing the child (from a child seat) and once the child was in her arms the trans slipped out of park and began rolling back. The child may have been dropped as she tried to stop the car from rolling or was struck by the open car door as it rolled back, or both. We don't know and the article did not say.
The facts as reported do not support your statements. You may want to reserve judgement till more is known. the woman deserves the benefit of the doubt.
wow. speechless. It doesn’t get any worse than that.
“Besides, I can’t take my keys out of the ignition if the van isn’t in park. They won’t come out.”
Not the case for a manual transmission.
Prayers sent, RIP little one.
What a handsome little guy. And the photo of his dad - absolutely heartbreaking.
Hopefully the mother will talk to the police soon.
thanks for the link. Those pictures are heartbreaking.
Lord bless the family and give them Your peace.
Good point. From the article linked on the thread it looks like a recent model of the Jeep Liberty.
I am reserving judgment, but the child is dead and there should be a thorough investigation.
The little guy and his dad deserve nothing less.
After reading the whole article, I’m satified that this was one of those “perfect storm” accidents where all the necessary elements came together to make it happen. Very few accidents have only a single cause.
If you conspiracy theorists have this much time on your hands, why don’t you go start the barbecue and see if you can melt steel with fire? As for me, I will spend my next few minutes praying for this family, what’s left of it.
I suspect that the mother dropped the child only after being struck by an open door or otherwise pulled off balance by the vehicle suddenly moving. The greatest negligence, IMO, was in having the thing in neutral in the first place.
See post #35.
That's one plausible explanation. The article linked further down the thread references being struck by an open door.
I think the point I and others were trying to make is that if you leave an SUV in neutral, clamber down from the driver's seat to the ground and then open up a rear door and lean inside to unsnap a child from a car seat the car is likely going to noticeably have started into motion by the time these various actions are underway.
I'm not supposed to be sobbing at work...
May God comfort this poor family.
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