A Tennessee man has been charged in the death of his two-year-old daughter after leaving her in his car in a restaurant parking lot while he went inside to place an order.
Reginald Ballard Sr. was inside a Captain D’s restaurant in Memphis paying for food, having left Reniyah in the car with her siblings, a 6 month old and a 4 year old. He was inside for approximately 10 minutes – long enough for Reniyah to get her head trapped in the window of the 2004 Ford Expedition, cutting off her airway and killing her.
When Ballard discovered the toddler he immediately took her to a nearby fire station after attempts to revive her failed. She was pronounced dead at the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.
Safety experts have long been campaigning for auto-reverse sensors to be mandatory on vehicle power windows.
'‘Elevators now have sensors so the doors don't close if something is in the way, as do automatic garage doors,’ said Janette Fennell, president and founder of KidsandCars.org.
'‘I don't think it's too much to ask for the same for power windows, especially since you're dealing with children.’'
Sensors cost around $6 or $7 per window. Fennell said they could have saved the lives of 33 children between 2001 and 2010 whose deaths were caused by power windows.
Around 2,000 emergency room trips are made every year due to power window- related incidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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TXT 24
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