California Injury Blog
Child Killed By Ice Cream Truck
Diana Morales, a 1-year-old girl, died in a pedestrian accident in Muscoy on March 11, 2009, after she was struck by an ice cream truck on her first birthday. According to this news article in the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Diana apparently crawled out of her family’s Muscoy home and in front of a parked ice cream truck whose driver, 47-year-old Cleo Tilde, hit the child and drove away, California Highway Patrol officials said. The baby’s siblings located her on the street unresponsive. Diana died soon after her mother took her to the hospital.
Apparently Tilde had been selling ice cream to the children in the 2500 block of West Second Avenue, right in front of Diana’s home. Officials said Tilde did not see Diana crawl up in front of her truck. None of the child’s family members noticed the baby go out of the house either. After running over the baby, Tilde continued driving the 1998 Ford E-350 truck unaware that she had hit little Diana until CHP investigators caught up with her. Tilde was not cited or arrested after investigators determined that this was a tragic and unfortunate accident.
My heart goes out to the family of little Diana Morales for their heartbreaking loss. I offer my deepest sympathies to them. Please keep them in your prayers.
Ice Cream Trucks Pose A Danger To Chrildren
When ice cream trucks park on the street, they pose a danger to children because children are naturally drawn to them. The trucks’ large size and the fact that they are usually surrounded by a large group of children blocks the vision of oncoming drivers. According to this National Institutes of Health study, which is one the few done about the dangers of ice cream trucks, a number of children hit by these trucks usually suffer orthopedic injuries such as pelvic or lower extremity fractures.
In this particular case, it cannot be denied that Diana Morales had crawled out of her home unnoticed. However, if I were a parent or a family member of this child, I would question whether this ice cream truck driver, given the nature of her job, was being attentive to her surroundings. Was there any negligence on her part? If that is the case, then she and her employer could be held liable. An experienced Riverside County pedestrian accident lawyer will be able to look into such an incident, examine the facts and determine whether there was negligence involved. A skilled pedestrian accident attorney will also be able look into whether there was a dangerous condition on the roadway that contributed to a particular accident. If that is the case, the city or the public entity in charge of maintaining that roadway can also be held liable.