Child Dies After Car Goes Off Cliff In West Finley
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A child has died after she became trapped under a vehicle that crashed.
Officials say 5-year-old Taylor Ann Louise Stout was in the car her mother was driving along Majorsville Road in West Finley around 6 a.m., when the car went over a cliff.
The mother tells police that another car forced her off the road, which sent the car over the side of the road, flipping several times and landing in an embankment about 30 or 40 feet below.
KDKA's Bob Allen Reports:
As it rolled, officials say the little girl was ejected from the car and then became pinned underneath it. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
"The mother climbed up over the bank, was able to flag someone down – a passerby in a vehicle – called for help," said Tim Warco, the Washington County Coroner.
According to state police, the little girl's booster seat may have not been properly restrained inside the vehicle.
"I believe the child died instantly after the ejection. From the trauma that I see, she would not have survived," said Warco. "She would have died instantly. So, we can imagine the emotional trauma and I'm sure the shock that set in once she realized the fate of her child."
Officials say they've seen lots of crashes, but this one in particular was difficult to see.
"This ranks one of the toughest ones," said West Finley Volunteer Fire Chief Stephan Emery said. "Anytime there's a child involved -- that's the hardest."
Majorsville Road is a winding back country road, with little safety measure such as guard rails. Officials say if the road had had guard rails, the result of the crash may have been different.
The family is not from the area and officials say they were staying at a campground nearby because the father was working in the oil and gas industry.
The mother was taking the child to catch a school bus when the accident happened. She had just dropped off her husband at a nearby site.
KDKA's Bob Allen Reports:
The mother was not injured in the crash.
Police are working to find out the description of the car that may have run them off the road.
Also, state police are conducting an accident reconstruction to determine exactly how the accident happened.
KDKA's Ross Guidotti Reports:
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