Car safety advocates call for more front cameras after 4-year-old killed in Huntington Station driveway
HUNTINGTON STATION, N.Y. -- A Long Island family is mourning the death of a 4-year-old boy who was run over in the family's driveway on Saturday morning.
On Monday, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff spoke with the child's devastated mother, who is asking for upgraded charges against the driver, who is a family relative.
"He was such a loving boy. He was always laughing. He had so much energy and so much things that he wanted to do," Naxi Moreira said.
She said he son loved to play in the driveway of their Huntington Station house.
"That was his favorite place. We always used to argue with him to not play there, but kids, you know, you tell them not to do something and they end up doing whatever they want," Moreira said.
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On Saturday morning, a 34-year-old cousin was dropping something off at the house when she struck the child in the driveway with the front of her 2006 SUV.
It was another example of a tragedy that claims lives, even after backup cameras designed to save children became standard equipment in 2018.
The problem is, small children can also be hard to see in front of a car, and safety cameras are not yet installed in many older cars.
"It brings me right back to the day when this happened to me. It's remarkable that it's still happening," said Sue Auriemma, vice president of the group Kids and Cars Safety.
Auriemma was at the wheel in her Manhasset driveway in 2005 when she struck her toddler daughter behind the car. She survived.
"In 70 percent of the cases, these front-overs and back-overs are a close family member," Auriemma said. "Sometimes, drivers just don't realize there is this area that they can't see."
Kids and Cars Safety reports last year 52 children were killed in the U.S. in back-overs and front-overs. It may take 20 years for all cars on the road to be outfitted with safety cameras and sensors, but older cars can easily be retrofitted.
"We are starting to see more cameras come from the factory on the front, so that blind zone in the front of the vehicle is addressed as well. But in theory those after-market cameras could be added both front and back," Auriemma said.
In Moreira's driveway, there are now tears and calls for elevated chargers. The driver was issued a summons for unlicensed operation, driving only with a learner's permit.
"I know it was a mistake because who want to kill a kid? Who would want to kill a baby? I know it was a mistake, but it can't stay like that. She has to pay," Moreira said. "I know that she was distracted."
CBS2 was unable to reach the driver for comment. The car was impounded for a safety check. Safety advocates say always check the front and back of the car before moving and realize a child can run out in an instant.