Father Backs SUV Over Child, Kills Him
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It has happened again and I'd like every person who drives an SUV in Jacksonville to be aware of this because it is happening too often!
Once again, this time a parent, has been unable to see past the large blind spots created by a sports utility vehicle (SUV) and once again a child is the victim.
This time it happened in Lauderhill, Florida.
10-year old Jair Harris was killed while riding his bicycle when his father, Wayne Cunningham was going out to tell the boy something. Neighbors saw the boy lying in the middle of the street with blood running from his nose, eyes and mouth. He was rushed to Broward General Medical Center, but he died.
I cannot imagine the anguish this parent will feel for the rest of his life and this is not an isolated incident.
A study from the University of Utah finds that children are up to two-and a half times more likely to be backed over by an SUV or truck than a car.
And the victims are more likely to be severely injured than those backed over by cars.
The university said that previous studies had suggested high-profile vehicles produce a large blind spot behind them, but no studies in the United States had attempted to document the rate of injury by type of vehicle.
In a 10 year period, The National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) recorded more than 6,600 children killed and at a higher rate by vans, SUVs and pickup trucks than cars.
At the very least, get out of the vehicle and look around the blind spots created by the vehicle. Automatic backukp beeps are a must in such large vehicles. Then again, with gas at more than $3 a gallon, it's likely fewer of us will be rushing out to buy these vehicles.