Hanson police identify child who fell out of moving car

Hanson police have identified a driver and child after the child fell out of a moving car, Police Chief Michael Miksch said Wednesday.

The child was unharmed, Miksch said, and after speaking with the driver, who is the child’s caregiver, the incident was determined to be an accident.

“We were glad to find out that the child was OK, and it appears that this incident was accidental,” he said. “I would like to thank the members of the media and public who assisted us in getting the word out that we were looking to speak with the driver involved.”

The woman was pulling out of the Hanson Town Hall boat ramp exit onto Liberty Street at about 10 a.m. Monday, when the child opened the rear driver’s side door and fell out of the vehicle, the chief said. The child tumbled into the road and quickly stood up and ran toward the car.

The driver pulled over, ran toward the child, picked the child up and brought the child back to the vehicle, Miksch said. They remained at the scene for a short time before driving away, he said.

On Tuesday, Hanson police released videos of the incident and asked for the public’s help in identifying the driver and child to ensure that the child was all right..

That night, the chief said, the driver contacted police to tell them that the child was unharmed.

The woman told officers the child had been in a car seat but managed to unbuckle it and open the door before the autolock feature engaged in the vehicle, Miksch said.

Police notified the state Department of Children and Families of the incident, the chief said, but the driver will not face any criminal charges or citations.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration offers these safety tips for driving with children:

• Teach children the proper times in which they can open a car door. Failure to have child locks on and children playing with the door may result in children opening the door at the wrong time and possibly falling out of a moving vehicle.
• Teach children that car doors are not toys and shouldn’t be played with. Children may sustain injuries to fingers and hands while fooling around with the door.
• Child locks should remain on rear doors at all times to ensure your child’s safety. Children also should be taught a safe procedure for entering and exiting the car.
• Always make sure a child’s car seat is installed correctly. For a seat belt to fit properly, the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snugly across the shoulder and chest, not across the neck or face.
• Infants under the age of 1 always should ride in a rear-facing car seat. A rear-facing car seat has a harness, and in a crash, it cradles and moves with your child to reduce the stress to the child’s fragile neck and spinal cord.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2xbyMkk