A one-month-old child was killed in a car accident on a highway in Florida on Thursday (December 9) morning. The Florida Highway Patrol said the infant was sitting on the lap of a woman in the passenger’s seat when the driver rear-ended a semitruck that was stopped in traffic due to an earlier crash.
Officials said that traffic was being diverted after a semitruck lost control and slammed into the guardrail on the Florida Turnpike in Osceola County before bursting into flames.
It is unclear why the driver failed to stop for the traffic in front of him.
The child was ejected from the vehicle due to the impact of the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene. The 41-year-old woman, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was rushed to the hospital and is in critical condition. The driver, identified as a 38-year-old man from California, was wearing his seatbelt and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
The truck driver was not hurt in the crash.
Florida law requires infants to be in a carrier or secured in a car seat while riding in a vehicle. Authorities said they are continuing to investigate the accident.