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A south Lafourche community is still reeling from an incident officials have termed a tragic accident, which took the life of a 13-month-old child.
The toddler, Cai Crosby, was declared dead at Ochsner St. Anne Hospital Jan. 3 from injuries suffered when he was struck by a car driven by his mother, whom authorities said did not realize he was in its path.
“This is a horrible tragedy for this family and the community,” said Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre. “My heart goes out to the family, and I pray they can find peace in such a difficult time.”
National safety organizations say similar cases are not unusual, and that two children in the U.S. die every day from such incidents which they describe as “backovers.”
At around 9:40 p.m. last Wednesday deputies responded to the Crosby home on La. 1 in Larose after a neighbor called to report screaming and crying at the location.
Deputies learned that the boy’s mother, 35-year-old Tralyn Crosby, was backing her vehicle up when she struck the child.
Medical personnel responded and transported the child to Ochsner St. Anne Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Webre said that neither impairment nor foul play are suspected as factors in the case.
Cai was laid to rest Tuesday at Holy Rosary Cemetery following tearful farewells from friends, relatives and others seeking to give the family solace.
The Crosby family owns an auto repair service and are well known in the small bayouside community.
KidsAndCars.org, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping children safe in and around motor vehicles, through study and education, is among the voices that have maintained campaigns for awareness. They would like to see back-up cameras mandated, but also warn parents that a camera is not enough.
According to investigators the Crosby vehicle was not equipped with backup camera.
“For over 100 years there has been no standard on what a driver should be able to see behind their vehicle.,” said KidsandCars founder Janette Fennell. “You simply cannot avoid backing into something or someone that you cannot see and we are all backing up blindly.”
Standards for the auto industry placed into force by the Obama administration that were to take effect in 2018, mandating backup cameras and in other ways for auto makers to bake enhanced visibility to their designs.
Safety experts say that as many as 50 children per week are backed over, noting that the blind spot behind most vehicles can hide a busload of kids, so just one alone is easy to not notice.
Drivers are urged to look for children when they head out from home, even in place or at times children are not expected to be.
In the Crosby case investigators determined that the mother had stepped out to take care of an issue regarding trash removal, and was not going out on a trip of any sort. The child was believed to be safe in the house, but got out unseen.
