NBC in Los Angeles reports that the weekend spent preparing for a baby boy’s first birthday turned into a tragedy over the weekend.
On Sunday, April 2, at approximately 4:15 p.m., a mother and father were walking on the sidewalk while pushing their 11-month-old baby in a stroller in the residential Rancho Santo Margarita area just north of Oso Parkway in Orange County.
What was meant to be a relaxing evening, the Hyundai driver jumped a curb onto the sidewalk and struck the family. Despite all life-saving efforts made by witnesses and paramedics responding to the crash, the baby died at the scene.
The baby’s 31-year-old mother suffered a broken pelvis, while his 34-year-old father suffered a concussion.
“For reasons still under investigation, the driver of the Hyundai Sonata left the roadway and traveled several hundred feet on the east sidewalk of Antonio Parkway and collided with the family,” a spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol said in a statement.
The driver, a 54-year-old San Clemente man, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of narcotics. Authorities had not released the suspect’s identity at the time of the report.
Understandably, the family is reeling after the tragedy. A family member said they had been preparing for the little boy’s first birthday on Friday.
“He would have had his first birthday on Friday,” his maternal aunt told NBC. “That little boy was my sister’s world. She waited a long time to have him, and he was just such a perfect little angel – just always so happy, gave a smile to anyone, and played with anyone.”
On behalf of the attorneys and staff of our firm, we would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family at this difficult time.
