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The child was thrown from a 1999 Lincoln Navigator driven by her mother, Veronda Gladney, 28, and was struck by several other motorists who were unable to slow down and avoid her, KABC reported. The tragedy occurred on a highway near Santa Clarita last Saturday. “[The girl] he was in the back of his 1999 Lincoln Navigator,” CHP Officer Joshua Greengard said. “There were witnesses who said he was either hanging out or playing in the back, the very back of it,” he continued. “That window was already broken and it looks like he may have fallen from the vehicle and then died tragically.” We apologize, but this video failed to load. Greengard added that the girl was not strapped into a child seat when she somehow fell through the broken rear window.
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In California, the law states that children under the age of eight must be secured in a car seat or booster seat – depending on height – but, at a minimum, wear a seat belt. Greengard described Gladney and the witnesses — including the drivers who hit the child — as “upset.” Gladney’s boyfriend, Michael Branch, was also in the SUV. Both were arrested for child endangerment, authorities said, although no formal charges have yet been filed as the investigation continues. “I’ve never had a child fall out of a moving vehicle,” Greengard said of his 14 years on the job. “I have been to many tragedies in my time, but this one is very unfortunate. It’s very sad.”
