On November 14, an eight-month-old baby fell out of a car around 10:30 a.m. in Irving. The incident happened at the busy intersection of North MacArthur Boulevard and Ranchview Drive.
According to KATC, police report that the “child fell from the rear passenger door of a vehicle and was run over and killed by the car behind it.”
Immediately after the baby fell out of the car, the mother stopped. A witness and the mother tried to revive the baby. Officer Robert Reeves, a police spokesperson, stated that “those efforts were unsuccessful.”
Reeves reported that the police were reaching out to the public in the area after they arrived at the scene.
On November 15, a news conference where Reeves revealed that the car door opened while the mother was making a left turn onto Ranchview Drive. The child then fell out of the car and onto the pavement.
The vehicle behind the mother’s car then ran the child over. According to KATC, the driver “may have been unaware of what happened” because they didn’t stop after the incident.
WFAA mentioned that witnesses saw a black sedan run over the baby.
Reeves said, “We do not believe that there was any malicious intent. We are not calling it a hit-and-run because we honestly don’t think that the person that ran over the child knows that they ran over that child.”
According to FOX 4, Reeves stated, “We think that someone knows they ran over something. They just might not know what they ran over,” and continued with, “They might have thought it was a package or an animal possibly, and they just ran over it and kept going.”
There were three other children in the car when the incident occurred. All three of them and the baby that fell from the vehicle are siblings.
Reeves stated that the other three children were six, three, and two years old, “none of whom were secured in child-safety seats,” Reeves said. The children were not buckled in by seat belts either, although there were two safety seats in the car.
FOX 4 mentioned that Reeves spoke about a witness to the incident. The witness stated that “They thought it was a baby doll falling out of the car,” and continued with, “They saw the other vehicle drive over the child. And that’s when they realized it was a child and the driver stopped.”
Reeves expressed, “As an officer makes their career, throughout the years you see a lot of things that you should never have to see. Our officers that have young children, this definitely hits home with them,” and added, “Anybody that has children, this hits home.”
KATC stated that “Reeves said that anyone who suspects that they might have run over an object at that time and place should contact Irving police.”
Reeves and Tiffani Butler, a spokesperson for Child Protective Services, stated that this is an ongoing investigation, and no charges have been filed.