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A two-year-old toddler was struck and killed by his mother's Jeep Thursday afternoon. The freak accident occurred outside their home in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx, when Bricy Mercedes was getting son Christopher out of his carseat . From the Post:
Holding him in her arms, she opened the front door and reached across the passenger seat to grab a bag - but the bag knocked the gearshift into neutral, a source said.The car ran over the toddler and continued down the driveway until hitting a van in the street. Neighbors ran to help Mercedes, one of whom gave the baby CPR. It was too late and Christopher died at the hospital.The car started rolling and the momentum caused the front door to push her over. She fell and dropped Christopher.
Brisy Mercedes had wailed, "My husband! My husband just got killed in the war! What am I going to do? My baby! My baby! I can't lose my baby." and "He's all I have ... I don't have anyone, he's all I have." Specialist Sergio Mendez was killed in a Humvee accident while serving in Iraq two months before son Christopher was born. Sergio's cousin told the Post, "Oh man, she's in a bad situation. She just lost her husband and now she just lost her first and only baby." The police are not filing any charges, noting that it was a terrible accident, and Mercedes was being treated at Jacobi hospital for shock.
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there should be a law requiring automakers to design a device to automatically lock the gearshift if the car is shut off, or not allow the driver to remove the keys unless the emergency/parking brake is engaged. in my minivan too, it's very easy to pull the gearshift out of gear, even when the car is off. that poor woman -- my heart goes out to her.
It's called a PARKING BRAKE, morons.
People who drive real cars (i.e. stick shift) use them all the time. I think it's insane how the majority of people, driving automatics, are too lazy or stupid to use theirs. My friend lost his car, and almost lost his dog, when he parked his car at the top of a boat launch at a lake where he was canoeing. The dog, who was left int he car because he was too big for the canoe, sat on the shifter, the car went in neutral and rolled down the launch and into the lake. They had to paddle as fast as they could to get to the car and open the doors to get the dog out just in time. The car sank to the bottom. I'm pretty sure he uses his parking brake now. Maybe this twit will too now.
very sad. darwin strikes again.
nikki, you ignorant slut. You have zero compassion.
"there should be a law requiring automakers to design a device to automatically lock the gearshift if the car is shut off, or not allow the driver to remove the keys unless the emergency/parking brake is engaged"
niki, are you fvcking serious? No there should not be! THere should be no laws demanding any of this. There should only be new laws to enforce better driver training!
leave it to you fucking trolls to post snide remarks instead of some compassion. karma's a bitch.
You do not feel a tad bit of sympathy for this lady?
Wow, I kinda want to call my family. That poor woman.
Maybe now she'll use the parking brake. What an idiot.
So sad. My condolences to that woman and her family...
SP, RDC, et al.: Wow. It must be great to be perfect and mindful of everything all the time. Seriously. I wish I had that trait. This woman lost her husband and her child and all you have to contribute is that she should've been using a parking brake in her frigging driveway? I don't know, maybe she had other shit on her mind?
The next time something unfortunate befalls you or somebody close to you, be sure to take a couple of snarky minutes to think about and comment on the one thing you could've done to prevent it. It's really, really helpful. Asshole.
Leave it to the lovely Samantha T to come in and shut all the trolls up. Y'all really should be ashamed of yourselves.
This woman will spend the rest of her life blaming herself for her child's death. Nice to see that some people are still happy to rub her nose in it, just for good measure. Sheesh!
Samantha, you are an idiot. This didn't "befall" her, this wasn't some stroke of pure bad luck, she FAILED TO USE HER PARKING BRAKE. It's a sad and horrible thing, but the fact is, it was her fault.
You see, there's this thing called RESPONSIBILITY, especially when you have a child, and when you are operating a two ton piece of machinery that has the potential to damage property, maim and kill living things. Yes, you must use your parking brake at all times, even in your driveway. Thats the reason they put them in cars in the first place you blathering idiot.
I sympathize with her, I feel most badly for the child, but in the end, it was her own damn fault. I use my parking brake, do you? Do you even drive, you silly twit? Do have any idea what you're talking about? I would have much more sympathy for her if it was something that happened to her and her child that was out of her control (such as the loss of her husband). She could have prevented this. She failed to, and now her kid is dead.
Shut your stupid self righteous mouth and learn from it, as hopefully she did. She's lucky she didn't kill anyone else at the same time. Her car could've rolled into traffic. And Mihow, you can go stick your smug stupidity where the sun don't shine too.
Let me get this straight: Mihow (thanks for the compliment, by the way) and I are the ones who are self-righteous and smug because we acknowledge that everybody on God's green earth makes mistakes? Jesus.
Hate to tell you, my friend, but you do, too.
smug? self righteous? Are you kidding me? You're one of the most self righteous people on here, if not THE most self righteous on here.
It must make you feel good leaving comments on gothamist using anonymity to call people names like "Silly twit" and "idiot".
Does SP stand for "Small Penis?"
Come back and get the last word. I'm shutting my smug mouth just for you, SP.
haha thats a funny one. here's one for you: mihow must stand for moronic incontinent hugely obese woman ;)
if it makes such a huge difference, SP is my name: Simon Potter. OOooo! I put my name on he internets! Thats soooo crazy courageous! You douchebag.
There areplenty of stories everyday about people who fuck up and people, including their own children, suffer from it. These people don't garner any sympathy from it, and they shouldn't.
these ifights are hilarious.
you guys go take a walk, it's beautiful outside.
This is a sad story. What's also sad is the attitude of some of the commenters who call the woman an irresponsible idiot. You know what, accidents happen. Even to those of you who never, ever make a bad call or have a lapse in judgment.
I agree with SP. Any empathy for this woman in the belief that what happened was a passive event over which she had no control is stupidly misguided. She failed to control a multi-ton machine -- equipped with devices to prevent such an event -- with mortal consequences. IT'S HER FAULT -- let her jump off the Throgs Neck Bridge in her grief, but it doesn't change that fact.
The car industry has managed to brainwash us to believe that driving is an act as unconscious as breathing, with the driver being no more responsible for any mistake as we are for a hiccup. WRONG. We can kill someone or ourselves every goddamn time we get behind the wheel. It's a risk -- more of a risk for absentedminded dipshits like this retard.
In a just world, she'd never drive again.
Actually, in a just world, she surely would throw herself off a bridge. The bloodline obviously wasn't meant to continue.
Wow, the scolds are out today. You guys would've made good nuns.
so sad ... :(