Uber driver attacked after accidentally running over toddler.

[Traci_Momof2]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/to ... rcna144187

Another horrific incident with a child. Two adults and two kids were being dropped off at an apartment complex by an Uber driver. All four exited the vehicle and the Uber driver assumed he was clear. He did not see the little toddler in front of his vehicle. He started moving forward and accidentally ran over the child, pinning the child under one of the rear wheels. Once he realized what had happened, he tried to move the vehicle to free the child but was attacked by family members of the child. The child was eventually freed and rushed for treatment but later died at the hospital. The driver was treated and released for non-life-threatening injuries due to the assault.

We can all agree that this was a horrific, tragic thing that happened to this little child. But are there charges to be filed here? Was the driver negligent when he ran over the child? Were the adults in attendance of the child negligent in not making sure the child was out of harms way? What about the adults who assaulted the driver before he could even free the child?

Surveillance video captured the whole thing. You can see prior to the incident the two adults and the older child walking away from the Uber vehicle, a full car length or more away from the Uber vehicle, while the little child is still coming around and crossing in front of the vehicle - a vehicle with a high profile blocking the view of the driver to the child directly in front of the vehicle. In the next clip, with the pinned child blurred out, you can see the Uber driver get out of his seat, notice the child, then try to get back into the driver's seat while adults rush in and start beating him.

[Traci_Momof2]

IMO, the adults who assaulted the driver should definitely be brought up on charges. I understand shock and panic, but that's no reason to assault someone. In a situation like this, the focus should be on helping the child, not carrying out vigilante justice.

I also feel like they should definitely look into negligence charges against the two adults who were in the Uber with the child. They were responsible for the child, they should have ensured the child was brought safely out of the parking lot. Instead you can see in the video they are walking far away from the Uber vehicle without seeming to have a care about where the littlest one was. How in the world were they so far away from the vehicle while the child was still right next to it? Did they even care about the child at all? Or did they just assume that the child would magically be ok despite the fact that it's a parking lot with moving vehicles that can kill children in an instant? Are they really that stupid?

[Anonymous 1]

The people who attacked the Uber driver should absolutely be charged. I almost ran over a 2 year old once. He ran out between 2 cars into a busy road right in front of me. Thankfully I was going slow enough to stop and dh jumped out and handed the kid to the dad who was frantically trying to find him on the sidewalk. Kids can be so fast.
They absolutely should have been watching that kid.

[MrsDavidB]

I saw this whole video yesterday! The people with the child were absolutely negligent to let a toddler wonder by himself in front of the big suv. Hold the kids damn hand as you exit the vehicle and cross in front! And their reaction of beating the man is so bizarre. How about calling 911 immediately?? Bending down to the child to hold him or render aid?? They are savages. No charges should be brought against the driver.

[AZOldGal66]

God, my heart breaks for this family as well as the Uber driver.

That family.... whomever participated....in the violence need to be charged.

I also hope the Uber driver sues them.

[Olioxenfree]

It sounds like it was a horrible accident, the driver didn’t see the child and the parents may have thought the child was with them or that the driver knew where the child was. Yes, they should have known where their child was and should have kept them with them, but parents have moments of mistakes all of the time, I wouldn’t call this definite negligence. As for the assault, as much as I disagree with assaulting someone and I don’t think it was warranted, their child is dead, i can see the argument of momentarily losing their ability to make the right decisions based on emotional turmoil, I think they’ve paid enough. I wouldn’t put a grieving parent in jail. They might argue that they responded that way because when he got back in the car, they thought he was trying to flee the scene. Honestly, if I accidentally ran over a child, I wouldn’t blame the parents for hitting me.

[carterscutie85]

When I get out of the car that's still running my kids are always on the opposite side of me than the car is. This is legit a fear of mine is that they'll get their foot run over. The parents were negligent for not watching their child.

I can see where someone's first instinct would be to hurt the driver but mine would have been focused on my child.

[RIZZY]

It's bizarre to me to not hold a toddler's hand while in a parking lot. The toddler being run over is more the fault of the family than of the driver, IMO. Yes, they should be charged.