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Car seat aids baby, but woman seriously hurt in I-275 rollover

News Channel 8 photo by RUGENE MOORE

A woman and a baby were injured when their pickup left the road on Interstate 275 about two miles north of Bearss Avenue and rolled over several times.

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TBO.com

Published: June 10, 2009

Updated: 06/10/2009 08:21 pm

TAMPA - A 25-year-old Lutz woman and a baby are recovering at local hospitals tonight after both were injured when she lost control of her pickup on Interstate 275 and crashed late Tuesday.

Driver Molly Santiago is in fair condition at St. Joseph's Hospital and 4-month-old Chace Schoppa is in good condition, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Santiago was trying to bring a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado back onto the highway after it veered to the outside shoulder about two miles north of Bearss Avenue, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The truck went into the median, where it flipped several times, according to an accident report. The baby was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital for evaluation.

The driver-side door had to be pried off by rescue personnel, and Santiago was flown to St. Joseph's Hospital, troopers said. Santiago was charged with careless driving. An investigation is ongoing.

In an unrelated incident Friday, a different 4-month-old child, who wasn't in a car seat, was ejected in a crash and landed on the pavement. The girl's head and mouth were bleeding, and her eyes were rolled in the back of her head, witnesses say. She was taken to Tampa General Hospital and initially was listed in serious condition. She has since been released.

Police said that child's injuries were preventable. They said the parents had a car seat in the vehicle but the baby wasn't in it. Instead, her mother, Maira Hernandez, was breast-feeding the infant when the child's father ran a red light and was struck slammed by a garbage truck.

Tamyne Maxson, a children's advocate at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital since 2005, said that when a child's car seat is installed and used correctly, it can be "extremely effective" at protecting children. It reduces the risk of death by 71 percent for infants or 54 percent for toddlers, she said.

But four of five car seats are used incorrectly, she said.

"It's a huge number," she said. "If not installed correctly, the child can be ejected from vehicle. That usually results in serious injuries and sometimes death."

Common mistakes include not reading instruction manuals for car seats and using a seat belt instead of a booster seat for children between ages 4 and 8, she said.

More than 1,200 child safety seats a year are inspected by the hospital. For information about events or classes involving car seat safety, call (813) 870-4747 or go to www.stjosephschildrens.com.

Reporter Josh Poltilove contributed to this report.

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