Florida is like many states in that they have laws governing how children under a certain age should be restrained in vehicles. Whether a resident of the state or a tourist just visiting, everyone traveling in Florida is expected to comply with the state’s child car seat laws. The primary law is that children are expected to be secured in a car seat until the age of five years old. Children between the ages of 0-3 should be secured in a separate car seat or a built-in child safety seat. Children between the ages of 4-5 may progress to a booster seat or continue to use a separate or integrated car seat. From the age of 6 to the age of 17, the child must always wear a seatbelt.
News 4 Jax reports that two separate crashes caused three fatalities in Jacksonville.
The first crash happened at around 10:30 p.m. on April 10th on eastbound Interstate 10 near Cassat Avenue. For unknown reasons, the vehicle veered off-road before crashing through a guardrail and flipping over onto its left side.
A 3-year-old child was ejected from the vehicle during the crash and the 32-year-old driver was trapped inside the car. The driver succumbed to their injuries at the scene. The 3-year-old child was rushed to the hospital and died a short time later.
At this time, alcohol is being investigated as a possible factor in the accident.
A separate accident at the same time occurred when a pedestrian was struck and killed while walking near the 9800 block of Baymeadows Road. A Ford Expedition was traveling east along Baymeadows when the pedestrian improperly attempted to cross the roadway outside a crosswalk.
None of the occupants of the Ford Expedition were injured.