2 Young Girls Killed In Crash After Not Using Child Safety Restraints
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that 723 children under the age of 13 died in car accidents. The federal agency also found that an estimated 618,000 from infancy to age 12 rode in vehicles without a child safety seat, booster, or seatbelt at least some of the time. An estimated 35% of the children who died in crashes that year were not buckled up. Child safety restraint laws are in place for a reason: these safety measures have been proved to save the lives of children in case of a motor vehicle accident.
CBS Local in Miami reported on a recent tragedy involving two sisters who both died in a crash that happened on the 1-95 in Deerfield Beach on Sunday.
Authorities say the accident happened on the I-95 north of Sample Road while two sisters, two-year-old Akeena Avanel Bennett and her sister, five-year-old Keanna Ariel Bennett were on their way to church in Fort Lauderdale with their godmother, Rashida Raby while the girls’ parents were out of town. Raby’s Toyota Corolla collided with a second vehicle being driven by Zachary Schot of Virginia.
Two-year-old Akeena Bennet was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, while her sister, Keanna, was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The elder sister died just 24 hours later as the result of the injuries she sustained in the accident.
The girls’ parents flew home immediately after learning of the crash.
Both Raby and Schot were rushed to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment. Raby was later released. No further word has been released regarding Schot’s current condition.
Investigators determined that neither child had been in a car seat or booster seat when the accident occurred. It is still uncertain whether either child was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
The cause of the fatal crash is still currently under investigation.