Toddler flings out car window, into river

OMG... this is horrible. The poor mother! And that dispatcher should be fired!

GARY, Ind. Jul 28, 2005 — Rescuers searched the Grand Calumet River Thursday for a 2-year-old girl who flew out a car window and plunged 40 feet into the water when her mother lost control of her SUV.

Keisha Bethley said she was driving behind the SUV driven by the girl's mother, Jacqueline Greene, when she saw it strike a retaining wall of a toll road ramp over the river.

The toddler, Jatama Greene, flew out the window, Bethley said. Bethley said she immediately dialed 911 on her cellular phone, but the dispatcher accused her of placing a phony emergency call.

"She kept saying 'Quit playing around,'" Bethley said. "I said, 'I'm not playing, the baby is in the water.'"

Witnesses said the toddler was moving after she struck the water around 8:45 p.m.

A man who drove up after the accident ran down the bank, jumped in the river and tried to reach the baby, but the current was too swift, Bethley said.

Jacqueline Greene, sobbing, was restrained by a friend from descending the river bank to search the water herself. According to police on the scene, the child apparently had not been fastened into protective restraints.

Helicopters shone spotlights on the river Wednesday night to help divers from the Gary Fire Department search for Jatama, but rescuers eventually had to postpone the search until daylight. They resumed Thursday.



http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=985684

Why was she loose in the car in the first place?

Yes, the dispatcher should be fired.

The mother should probably be jailed for criminal negligence or child endangerment if she chose not to restrain the child.

I do know that when my children were 2-3 (several years ago), they could sometimes get out of a carseat while I was driving, and it was not always possible to immediately stop the car.... but I believe they have improved car seats now?

I'll be the first one here to admit that I see things pretty much in black and white and don't give much "wiggle room" to most things. However, when it comes to children and ignorance on the part of parents, there is no wiggle room. I've got three of my own (ranging in age from 25 to 10), so I KNOW all thing weird unplanned things that can happen with children. That having been said, there is absolutely NO EXCUSE for (1) leaving children alone near water; (2) not having children restrained in a moving vehicle; (3) allowing men to "babysit" your children; (4) allowing children outside unsupervised; and (5) leaving children in a car unsupervised. I'm sure there are more, but I think ya'll get my drift.

What could possibly have stopped this mother from jumping into the water to try and save her baby? How can mothers leave a burning house that they know their children are in? How can mothers drop off their children on the side of the road?

I'm getting myself worked up and I need to stop!

Jeana (DP) said:

What could possibly have stopped this mother from jumping into the water to try and save her baby? How can mothers leave a burning house that they know their children are in? How can mothers drop off their children on the side of the road?

I'm getting myself worked up and I need to stop!

Click to expand...

There is not a thing in the world that would have keep me from jumping in to try and save my child ( but MY child would have been secure in their car seat- there were several times that I remember having to pull over and restrap my child in- but as someone posted car seats have been improved in recent years) As far as the burning house I would burn to death trying to save them befor getting myself to safety.

I have made lots of mistakes in my life , and have not been the perfect parent, but I have always loved my children and put them and their safety first and will continue to. I dont understand parents who dont

Rather than feel angry at the lady, I feel sorry for her. She did make a mistake, but she will be the one who has to live with it. I'm guessing that the current was such that she didn't have much of a chance to jump in and be able to catch up to her child.

I feel so sorry for this woman and her loss. But, it justifies every single time that I pulled over to the side of the road to scold my children when they got out of their safety harnesses. I swear training children can be a pain in the a$$, but if you let them win those little battles ... you'll lose the war.

I always found the candy in the check out aisle's to be an interesting challenge as well, but at least that one wasn't life threatening.

They found the body of the poor child yesterday:-

http://katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=78732

About 20 people resumed the search by boat and from helicopters for the toddler's body Friday morning after crews worked throughout the day Thursday in an unsuccessful search, Fire Chief Mark Everett said.

Rescuers said Thursday there was little chance they would find the girl alive after divers looked for her near railroad track abutments in the heavily industrialized area where the water was coated with moss, algae and debris.

Passengers in the car said the girl was wearing a seat belt, but investigators found no child seats in the vehicle.