Toddler Is Killed After Falling Out of Family’s Car

In a freakish chain of events lasting just moments, a father accidentally ran over and killed his toddler with the family car Tuesday in a shopping center parking lot.

Juan and Adela Rojas of Santa Ana had just finished shopping with their two sons and a nephew at Food 4 Less about 10:40 a.m. when the tragedy occurred, police said.

The family got into their car in the parking lot at Bristol Street and Warner Avenue for the short trip to another store in the same shopping center. Their 14-month-old, Juan Rojas Jr., and the other children, 4 and 5, got in the back seat, Santa Ana Police Sgt. Bob Clark said.

While Rojas was starting the car, little Juan threw a toy gun out the window. Rojas started backing up the car to retrieve the toy when the baby fell out the window, landing on his face, Clark said.

Rojas, 33, got out of the car to retrieve the baby but apparently lost his balance and grabbed the gear shift to right himself, which put the car in reverse, Clark said. He then tried to hit the brake, but hit the accelerator instead.

“The car screeched backward and ran over the baby,” Clark said.

The child died of massive head injuries, he said.

The parents were surrounded by friends and relatives in their apartment Tuesday afternoon.

“Everybody is shocked,” said Bertha Cortez, the children’s aunt.

Relatives said the family plans to go to their hometown in the Mexican state of Michoacan to bury the boy in the next couple of days.

Adela Rojas, who is in the process of becoming a legal resident, will have to ask the Immigration and Naturalization Service for permission to leave the country for the funeral without losing her legal status.

Police said the tragedy should remind parents that any child weighing 40 pounds or less needs to be fastened in a car seat for even the shortest of trips.

“This is probably one of the most unusual accidents I’ve seen, in that there was a car seat available in the back seat, but it wasn’t being used,” Clark said. “This one was a very unusual chain of events, just an entire series of tragic mistakes that ultimately resulted in the death of the baby. It just shows you how fast these things can happen.”