KHOU 11/YouTube
Two people were exiting the vehicle from the back left and proceeded to the left towards the apartment, while two other people, including the 1-year-old, exited the vehicle from the back right, per the HCSO report.
As the child “walked in front of the vehicle,” she was not visible to the driver, who “began to slowly drive forward and struck the juvenile,” police said. Although the driver then stopped the vehicle, “the juvenile was stuck under the left rear tire.”
“This is when both of the adult females and several other adult males began trying to remove the juvenile from being stuck,” police added.
The HCSO noted that the driver tried to move the vehicle but couldn’t because the other people were “assaulting him and pulling him from the vehicle.” An unidentified male eventually moved the car and the juvenile was taken via a private vehicle to a gas station where they met emergency medical personnel.
Life-saving measures were administered and the girl was taken in critical condition to a hospital where she died, said authorities.
The driver, who “did not exhibit any signs of impairment,” remained on the scene and has cooperated with the ongoing investigation, the HCSO in its report, adding that he was also taken to a hospital with injuries after being assaulted.
“The incident is still under investigation. Upon its completion, it will most likely be forwarded to the DA’s office for final disposition and possible indictment from the Grand Jury,” officials added.
In a statement on social media, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said that “the toddler was afew months shy of her 2nd birthday.”
“It’s just an unfortunate tragedy at this point,” Lt. K. Benoit told theAssociated Press.
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“As parents, relatives, custodians of children, we have to just be a lot more alert, hold their hands, guide them to a safe place and then watch the driver pull away,” Benoit said while speaking with CBS affiliateKHOU.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE Monday about the incident, a representative for Uber said that “the details of what’s been reported is heartbreaking, and our thoughts go out to the victim’s family."
source: people.com
