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Unrestrained Baby Ejected From Vehicle In Crash

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TBO.com

Published: February 7, 2008

Updated: 02/07/2008 12:09 pm

A 7-month-old girl is in critical condition after being ejected from an unsecured car seat during a crash Wednesday night in Winter Haven.

Darlene Washington, 40, of 3590 Ave. O N.W., Winter Haven, was driving east on Havendale Boulevard in a white 1997 Ford Excursion when she hit a 1998 Toyota 4-Runner driven by off-duty Winter Haven Police Department Officer Brandon Owusu, 23, said Donna Wood, a Polk County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.

Deputies say Washington entered the left turn lane at 29th Street Northwest, attempted to make a U-turn and failed to yield to Owusu's SUV.

The impact ejected an infant girl from Washington's vehicle, Wood said. Kamaria Evans was in an unrestrained car seat.

The child was flown to St. Joseph's Medical Center with bruised lungs, numerous lacerations and a fractured skull, Wood said. Her mother, Carnetha Culpepper, 17, of 3590 Ave. O, Winter Haven, was not hurt.

Washington and Owusu were treated at area hospitals but not admitted.

"The thought of this baby being ejected and crashing onto the cement is heart-wrenching," Sheriff Grady Judd says win a written statement. "She wasn't properly secured; this was preventable."

Deputies are investigating, and charges are expected, Wood said.

According to 2006 statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Wood said, 35 percent of children younger than 5 years old who died in car crashes that year were not restrained.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office can help parents learn how to use safety seats, Wood said. Call (863) 534-6677 to arrange for a free safety-seat check.

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