(10/31/2019) - A 2-year-old girl died after her mother accidentally drove over her in the driveway of a residence in Sebewaing on Wednesday evening.
The accident was reported around 6:30 p.m. on Maple Street in the north part of the small town of 1,700 residents along Saginaw Bay in Huron County.
Sebewaing police say the girl's mother was pulling out of the driveway when the accident happened. The mother apparently believed the 2-year-old was in the vehicle with her and didn't know she was outside.
Emergency crews rushed the girl to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
"It’s a shame when something like this happens," said Rod Tietz, who lives several blocks away from where the accident happened. "It’s sad and here we are we have Halloween coming up."
He believes the accident will certainly will put a damper on the Halloween festivities in town, but it also means parents, guardians and drivers will be a little more attentive to the trick-or-treaters out on the streets.
"Depending on how many people are out tonight, I think mom and dad are going to really watch when they have the kids out ... and the have to," Tietz said.
He understands how a parent or anyone can lose track of a child in an instant.
"I got a couple of 2-year-old grandkids too and they don’t sit around. They are on the run," Tietz said.
According to the latest data from kidsandcars.org, incidents like this unfortunately aren't uncommon. About 50 children are backed over every week on average in the U.S. because a driver could not see them.
The average age of the victim is just 1-year-old. Over 60-percent of backing up incidents involve a larger-size vehicle, like a truck, van or SUV.
Tragically, a parent or close relative is behind the wheel in over 70% of backover incidents.
As vehicles get bigger, so do their blind spots. The average blind zone on the back of vehicles stands at 15 to 25 feet and can extend up to 50 feet, according to kidsandcars.org.
Every vehicle has blind spots on all sides, including up to eight feet on the front and sides. Shorter drivers increase the size of the blind spots.
There have been efforts to cut down on the number of backover crashes. A rule went into effect last year requiring all new vehicles to come equipped with a back-up camera as a standard feature.
Some automakers also offer a new feature giving drivers a birds-eye view of their car. They do this with several half-hidden cameras placed around the sides, back and front.
The price of this surround view varies, but it costs around $4,000 on average.
Experts offer some tips for parents to avoid backover accidents:
-- Aftermarket cameras are available for drivers to install on vehicles that don't have one already.
-- Lock the doors when leaving home so kids can't get outside on their own.
-- Make sure children are directly supervised every time someone is arriving or leaving.
-- Walk around the vehicle before driving off, checking for kids and pets.
-- Roll down a window when backing out to hear if someone is warning you to stop.