Utah Law Talk

An infant is dead following a single-car rollover near Payson, Utah on March 1, 2009. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, a family was traveling from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City, Utah. Around Payson, the driver, Doris Licona, fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the SUV she was driving. The vehicle bounced into a guard rail, she overcorrected, and the SUV ended up rolling at least twice in the median. Only one person of the five in the car was reported to have been wearing a seatbelt. This includes the mother of a young child, Michelle Nuila, 19 years of age, who had her 9-month old son Jonathan on her lap and was sitting in the front seat.
All front seat passengers, including the infant, were ejected out of the car. The baby died at the scene. The two in the back seat, a ten-year old and 2-year old, who were children of the driver, were taken to the hospital in stable condition. The two year old was the only person in the car that was restrained.
This is a simply tragic case that could have largely been avoided if the passengers had seat belts on. This includes the children who should be placed in age-appropriate car seats. A small child, who doesn’t know any better, should never ride in anyone’s lap. I suppose adults have their agency to choose for themselves. But parent’s must ensure that their minor children are always properly restrained.
Finally, driving while fatigued can be just as bad as driving drunk. It impairs drivers to the point that they are unable to safely operate their car.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Childrens Injuries, Vehicle Injury, Wrongful Death. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.