Toddler killed in 20mph crash after mother failed to secure her child seat
A TODDLER died in a 20mph car crash, as her mother reached for a dummy, because her child seat was not secured by a seat belt, an inquest heard.
Adela Mai Crawford, from Felixstowe, Suffolk, was killed following a collision where her forward-facing seat hit the dashboard.
The 20-month-old suffered a spinal injury and died the next day at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.
As her mother, Annie Crawford, 20, took her eyes off the road to reach for a dummy to pacify her crying daughter, she drove her VW Polo into the back of a Toyota Corolla.
A coroner heard that the toddler’s neck was broken in the collision when her seat lurched forward, placing her directly over the airbag when it went off. Although the toddler was properly strapped into her seat, it was not secured by the car’s seat belt, as required by law.
Mrs Crawford was described as a “loving and caring mother” during the inquest.
It is believed the death of her child came less than a month after losing her mother, Christelle Crawford, 52, who had previously suffered from cancer.
Mrs Crawford was not available for comment yesterday but a relative said the whole family were still “suffering” and “sad”.
Brenda Crawford added: “You don’t know what that little girl is going through and her dad, all of us, my family, we are such a close family and this has broken us.”
Accident investigator Roy Dade, who attended the scene on Feb 11, told Ipswich coroners’ court that the damage to the vehicles involved suggested Ms Crawford was travelling “in the region of 20mph” at the time and no faster than 30mph.
He also said the mother had been distracted in reaching for the dummy, and added: “[Adela] was secured in the child seat but the seat was not secured by the vehicle seat belt as is required… Mrs Crawford applied the brakes but this was too late to avoid a collision and the seat tipped forward and was struck by the airbag and its cover.”
The incident took place on the southbound carriageway of the A12 between Martlesham and Ipswich in Suffolk.
Dr Peter Dean, the Suffolk Coroner, said: “The very, very sad circumstances here emphasise the need for anybody travelling with infants in the car to ensure not just that they are secured in the integral harness but also the whole seat is secured by the seat belt.”
He concluded: “I’m going to record a conclusion of road traffic accident in respect of this particularly tragic death.”