A 3-year old girl was killed and 3 others were injured, including a 4-year old girl, in a mid-day car crash on I-4 near Maitland Blvd. 

The driver of the vehicle lost control and the car rolled over at least two times, ejecting two of the passengers. The 3-year who was killed was one of the ones ejected.  The adult passenger was taken to ORMC in critical condition and the driver was in serious condition.

It was determined that both children were in carseats, but the three year old was known to unbuckle herself, which may be why she was thrown from the vehicle.

In recognition of National Teen Driver Safety Week, Governor Charlie Crist has declared this to be Teen Driver Safety Week in Florida, an attempt to reduce the number of teenage driver’ auto accidents.  The proclamation focuses on the fact there were over 36,000 teenage drivers involved in auto accidents in Florida last year, and 479 people were killed as a result of a car crash when a teenage was driving.

Teenage Driver Safety Week in Florida also coincides with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles launching their new website, Take the Wheel,  This new website is sort of an edgy site aimed at teenage drivers.  It has teen testimonials on teenage driver car crashes, suggestions on handling peer pressure, the do’s and don’ts of safe driving, the consequences of bad driving and a teenage driver survey.  It also gives teens an opportunity to relate their own driving experiences to be posted on the web.

A 24 year-old mother was driving in south Orlando yesterday with her 6-month old son in a car seat in the back.  According to a witness who was directly behind her, the woman stopped at the stop sign at Central Florida Parkway and Rocket Blvd., but then made a fatal mistake.  She pulled directly in front of a dump truck.

The impact of the crash crushed the small car, pinning it fully under the dump truck.  It took a large wrecker to separate the two vehicles. 

The witness immediately ran to the small car, but there was nothing he could do.  The woman died in the crash and the baby was pronounced dead at the hospital. 

The driver of the dump truck was not injured, but was emotionally distraught when he saw the car seat in the back of the crushed car.