The Mobile Register
October 9, 2005
3-year-old closes window on neck
The 3-year-old boy who was found unconscious in a car in Theodore on Friday afternoon had caught his neck between the car door frame and an electric window, police said Saturday.
The boy -- a Hurricane Katrina evacuee from Pascagoula -- had been left unattended in the vehicle in the parking lot of the post office while his mother's boyfriend was inside the building, said Officer Eric Gallichant, a Mobile police spokesman.
The boy apparently hit the button that rolled the electric window up until it pressed against his neck, catching his head outside the vehicle and his body inside, Gallichant said.
A passer-by saw the boy in distress and called 911, but the boy was unconscious when officers arrived at the scene, Gallichant said.
The toddler was taken to the Intensive Care Unit of the University of South Alabama Children's & Women's Hospital and was released Saturday, Gallichant said.
The boy, his mother and his mother's boyfriend moved from Pascagoula after Hurricane Katrina struck in late August, Gallichant said.
As of Saturday afternoon, the boy was in foster care, and no criminal charges had been filed, according to Gallichant. The boy's mother had been out of town and was on her way back to Mobile as of Saturday, Gallichant said.
"The information from the investigation will be presented to the DA's office for review to determine if criminal charges are applicable," Gallichant said Saturday.
The boy apparently will suffer no long-term health effects from the accident, Gallichant said.
Cheboygan News
July 19, 2005
Child trapped by car window dies
CHEBOYGAN - A 3-year-old Benton Township girl trapped in the window of one of her family's vehicles Sunday died at a Grand Rapids hospital Monday morning.
Lilleia Guilbault of Orchard Beach Road ultimately succumbed to injuries received at approximately noon Sunday, a Michigan State Police report stated. A 911 call from the girl's residence indicated that the child was discovered trapped in one of the family's vehicles with the window rolled up against her neck.
Although the child was unconscious when found by a family member, rescue efforts at the scene were initially successful in resuscitating her. She was first treated at Cheboygan Memorial Hospital and then flown to Grand Rapids for treatment.
Investigators were told that the girl had been playing outside before being found trapped in the car window. The investigation is continuing.
The Independent
March 3, 2005
Man charged in toddler's death
Preliminary autopsy results show child was asphyxiated by car window while left unattended in the vehicle
Shaane Pena-Medina is escorted through the Hall County Courthouse. Medina was charged with felony child abuse resulting in a death of his girlfriend's 17-month-old son.
A Grand Island man was charged on Wednesday with felony child abuse resulting in a death after a 17-month-old boy in his care died when he was left unattended in a car.
The boy, Shaane Castaneda Jr., died Tuesday evening at St. Francis Medical Center, Grand Island police Capt. Robert Falldorf said.
Shaane E. Pena Medina had taken the toddler with him to Stolley Park, where he planned to play soccer, about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday. Medina is the boyfriend of Saira Castaneda, the child's mother, Falldorf said.
Medina, 21, told authorities that he played with the boy for 15 to 20 minutes before leaving him in a 1993 Ford Taurus to play soccer nearby. The car wasn't running, but the key was turned to the accessory position, which allowed Medina to leave music on for the child. It also allowed the power windows to be operated, Falldorf said.
During an interview with authorities, Medina, who speaks Spanish but not English, said he glanced over at the boy periodically. After playing soccer for 15 to 20 minutes, he saw the boy in the driver's seat with his neck caught in the rolled-up window. The child wasn't moving, and Medina was unable to revive him, Falldorf said.
Medina drove the boy to St. Francis Medical Center, where the child was declared dead, Falldorf said.
Hall County Attorney Mark Young said preliminary results of an autopsy, which was conducted on Wednesday in Omaha, determined that the boy died of asphyxiation caused when the window pushed his neck into the frame of the door.
Medina had left the windows partially down, and the child had triggered the power window, Young said.
Police were contacted by emergency room personnel about 6:18 p.m. Tuesday. A Spanish-speaking officer wasn't available to talk to Medina, so he was taken to the Nebraska State Patrol office, where he was interviewed by a Spanish-speaking investigator, Falldorf said.
Medina was arrested Tuesday night and appeared in Hall County Court on Wednesday. He sat at the defense table with his head down for most of the hearing and appeared to wipe tears from his face.
Falldorf said Medina wasn't the father of the deceased child but had been involved with Saira Castaneda since she was pregnant with the boy.
"He had assumed the father role," Falldorf said.
According to the charge against him, Medina "knowingly or intentionally caused or permitted a minor child to be placed in a situation that endangered his life or health and said situation resulted in the death of the child."
In court on Wednesday, Hall County Judge Philip Martin advised Medina that the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Custom Enforcement had placed a hold on him, and if he isn't a U.S. citizen, a conviction in this case could result in his removal from the country or a denial of citizenship.
Medina is a citizen of Mexico, and officers are looking into Saira Castaneda's citizenship status, Falldorf said.
Young asked for a 10 percent of $750,000 bond because of Medina's ties to another country, the seriousness of the charge against him and his recent return to Grand Island from Texas.
Martin set Medina's bond at 10 percent of $500,000, an act he called "academic" due to the defendant's immigration status.
His preliminary hearing is set for 3:30 p.m. April 4.
"Your description makes this sound more like an accident, frankly," Martin told Young, "but there'd still be an offense."
The Dallas News
June 6, 2004
Toddler, stuck in window, dies
A 3-year-old girl died Sunday night after getting her head caught in the power-operated window of a running vehicle.
The child, whose identity was not released, was left in the car at 6:30 p.m. in the 13600 block of Montfort Drive near where her father worked. Authorities said the child's mother left the car to speak to the father, and the toddler somehow rolled up the window on her head. She was transported to Medical City where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators said no charges have been filed at this time.
The Rapid City Journal
May 6, 2004
Girl dies after head gets caught
RAPID CITY - A 4-year-old Box Elder girl died Monday night after getting her head caught in an electric car window.
Hallee Chappell and two other small children were left alone in a vehicle that was left running while her mother, Jessica Chappell, and a friend checked on a home for sale, according to Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin.
Merwin said the adults were in the home for about 10 minutes when the mother's friend heard the children screaming.
Upon returning to the vehicle, the adults found the girl stuck in the window.
Merwin said he does not expect charges to be filed and said the death was being considered an accident.
The accident was reported about 7:45 p.m.
The Indianapolis Star
April 16, 2003
Boy dies after neck gets caught in car window
An 11-year-old Danville boy died Tuesday evening when his neck got caught in the power window of his mother's car.
The victim was identified as Mitchell L. Johnson, son of Robert and Sheila Johnson of Danville.
Mitchell and his mother were at Danville South Elementary School attending a fourth-grade musical program that included the victim's brother, Elijah.
"At some point, Mitchell got bored, asked his mother for the keys to the car so he could go get his basketball and shoot some hoops," said Steven Matthews, a Hendricks County deputy coroner.
"Twenty minutes later, at about 7:45 p.m., the program concluded and his family went out to the parking lot," he said.
The child was inside the car with his neck caught in the driver's-side window.
He was later pronounced dead at Hendricks Regional Health hospital.
KSN News
June 18, 2002
Wichita family mourning loss of two-year-old child
WICHITA, Kansas, June 18 - The boy strangled himself when he got his head caught in the power window.
Police say the father left his three kids in the parking lot of this four-plex and ran in to make a phone call. He told police his two-year-old son and two-year-old daughter were buckled up in the back seat and his nine month old baby girl was in a car seat.
But when two-year-old Nathan White tried to crawl out the driver's window, he activated the power windows and his head became stuck.
Lt. Ken Landwehr, with the Wichita Police Department said, "As they both approached the car, they noticed that the child's head was outside the window. He appeared to be asleep. That's when they made entrance into the vehicle and released the child. They noticed the condition of the child, he wasn't breathing."
The father drove little Nathan to Via Christi - St. Joseph, but it was too late, Nathan was gone.
Police say it appears to be an accident and although Kansas law requires children under four years of age or under 60 pounds to be in a child safety seat, the car wasn't moving so there doesn't appear to be any traffic violations.