Child Passenger Safety Advocates recommend all kids 12 and under to always ride in the back. I'm sick over this little girl's death. Senseless!

Caldwell, IN girl, 3, dies from crash injuries

A 3-year-old Caldwell girl struck by a front-seat airbag after a car crash died Wednesday evening at a local hospital.
Lilianna Jones died at about 5 p.m. Wednesday at St. Luke´s Regional Medical Center, according to Idaho State Police spokesman Rick Ohnsman.

Jones was riding in the front passenger seat of her family´s 1995 Ford Windstar on Tuesday morning when the van collided with another vehicle at an unmarked intersection of a Caldwell neighborhood about two blocks from the family´s home, according to reports.

It is not clear why the girl wasn´t in her child safety seat, which was located in the back seat of the van. Her 6-year-old sister, who was buckled in the back seat, was not injured in the crash, according to reports.

Lilianna Jones´ father, 42-year-old Donald E. Jones, was driving the van and could face charges in connection with the crash, Canyon County Prosecutor Dave Young said Thursday.

The charges could include felony injury to a child, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, Young said.

“It´s one of those things where we have discretion,” Young said. “We could go either direction on it.”

By Karen~moderator on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 08:10 pm:

Heartbreaking..............

By Bobbie on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 09:05 pm:

Terrible. I have people I tell all the time. Your child is to small to ride up front. Up until this year DS 12 wasn't allowed in the front seat. But he is now larger than most grown women. But up until then I wasn't taking any chances. The girls are in the back seat with seat belts on or the car doesn't go. And if they are to ride with anyone they know the rules of car safety before they take my child.

By Jessicac1979 on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 10:09 pm:

I hate that too! I live in Delaware and I can tell you I see TONS of people riding around with their kids unbuckled or in the front seat OR in the front seat on someones lap with NO seatbelt on-They really need to crack down on it in DE b/c if I see it I KNOW the cops have to be able to see it going on. Plus working at the daycare, I can tell you about 45% of the parents there do not put their kids in carseats or if they do they do not buckle them in right. We had this one baby in her carseat and I buckled it and saw that there was soooooo much slack that if they were to reck that baby would be tossed like a rag doll! It is scary that people do that to their kids-if you cant take care of them why have them?! My daughter is always in the back with her butt in her booster seat. OH and to add on my one friend from work has three boys and doesnt buckle any of them in and her boy which is 5 like my daughter made fun of RayAnne one day b/c he saw her get into the truck said Why does RayAnne ride in that baby seat? OOHHHH I was sooooo mad! LOL I just said b/c it will keep her safe if we were to wreck and it wasnt a baby seat. People are crazy that is for sure!

By Dawnk777 on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 10:24 pm:

Oh, that's awful and preventable! At 3, both of mine were in a carseat yet and in the backseat! Yikes!

Then there was the little boy last week sitting in the middle of the front seat, not in a carseat and he only looked about 2! Grrr!