Babysitter Charged After Putting Baby in Stroller in Truck Bed
This is not something you see every day. A 1994 Dodge pickup truck was observed driving down several Daytona Beach streets Thursday, August 18, with a stroller in the truck bed containing a baby boy, and the babysitter with her hand steadying it. That 23-year-old babysitter from Daytona Beach is now facing a child neglect charge for leaving the 8-month-old boy in the stroller in the moving pickup truck. The sitter was arrested, reports The Orlando Sentinel and the truck driver was cited for careless driving. The mother came to pick up her baby.
Numerous witnesses called 9-1-1 to report the truck on Mason Avenue, Nova Road and South Adams Street where it pulled into a driveway with police following after they captured part of the stroller truck on camera. Those are some of the most traveled roadways in Volusia County and the arresting officer called it “incredibly unsafe” and a “highly dangerous situation.”
Florida law does not allow dogs to ride in the back of a pickup and it certainly does not allow children. Under law (316.2015), all children are supposed to be in an appropriate child car seat for their age and riding in the back seat of the vehicle belted in. If the back of a pickup truck is fitted with secure seating and seatbelts, adults may ride there belted in. The bed of a pickup truck is designed to carry cargo, not people, and it offers no protection in an auto accident.
Being thrown out of the truck, which can occur at very low speeds, could cause catastrophic injury including brain trauma. Fortunately, witnesses called in and the police intervened before anything tragic happened to this baby.
Sources: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/crime/os-babysitter-drove-infant-truck-bed-20110818,0,3454972.story, http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?StatuteYear=2011&AppMode=Display_Results&Mode=Search%2520Statutes&Submenu=2&Tab=statutes&Search_String=316.2015 and http://www.iihs.org/laws/cargoAreas.aspx
