Woman Crashes with Unrestrained Infant in Car
Authorities say a female driver may have been both drunk and trying to text while driving when she crashed her car into a roadside sign on Kingston Pike. Making matters worse is the fact that at the time of the crash a twenty-one day-old infant was riding in the car and was not properly restrained in a child restraint device. The child was injured in the wreck and was taken to the hospital for treatment. Multiple charges have been filed against the driver, including Child Restraint Violation.
Tennessee law requires that children be restrained in various methods while in a moving vehicle according to their weight, age, and height. Information about exactly how a child or children that may ride with you should be restrained can be found at the Tennessee Department of Safety’s website. Children under one year of age must be placed in a rear-facing child restraint system in the rear seat of the vehicle if the vehicle has a rear seat (although the child may be placed differently if the child restraint system or vehicle manufacturer’s instructions provide otherwise).
Failing to properly restrain a child when they are a passenger in a moving vehicle is illegal and is automatically considered negligent conduct under Tennessee law. The reason for this is common sense: no ordinarily prudent driver would think it was reasonable to operate a vehicle with a small child in the car who is not properly restrained. Doing so can lead to serious injuries, even if the accident is only a minor wreck, due to the fragile nature of small children. Drivers who fail to properly restrain child passengers risk both serious injury to their passengers and the threat of personal injury lawsuits, such as a wrongful death or negligence claim, especially if their child passengers are not their own children. Properly restrain small children while in the car to avoid such unfortunate circumstances.
Source: http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=107715&catid=2
