Car Crash Kills Unsecured Baby

A 29-day-old girl was killed when she was ejected from a car that was rear-ended while stopped at an intersection. Police said the pickup truck that rear-ended the car was driven by a drunk driver.

The San Diego County medical examiner’s office identified the child as Vanessa Mikaela Mata. According to reports by police and the coroner, the child was in a car driven by her mother, Teresa Samudia.

A police report of the incident said Samudia’s compact car was stopped at 47th Street and Ocean View Boulevard at 9:01 p.m. Saturday. A truck driven by Thomas Sauls, 49, rear-ended Samudia’s vehicle, police said.

Police said the rear-ended car was pushed into the intersection and broadsided by a third vehicle. Samudia’s car overturned and the baby was thrown from the vehicle.

The child was taken to Paradise Valley Hospital, where she died. An unidentified 6-year-old child who was also in the overturned car was treated for a broken arm.

The coroner’s report said the baby was in a hand-held carrying seat that had been placed in the back seat of the car. However, the carrying seat was not restrained, the report said.

Police said Sauls had been arrested and charged with drunk driving and manslaughter.

The driver of the other vehicle that struck Samudia’s car suffered minor cuts, and his pregnant female passenger experienced abdominal pains, police said. Their identities were not available.