2-Year-Old Dies After Teen Family Member Accidentally Runs Over Her At Texas Home

A 2-year-old child, who was playing in the front yard of her home in Texas, was killed when a family member accidentally ran over her.

The 18-year-old unidentified family member was backing his vehicle into the driveway when he accidentally ran over the toddler, identified as Itsel Garcia-Hernandez. The incident took place at a home in Von Army just after 10:40 p.m. local time (11.40 p.m. EDT) Saturday night.

The toddler was rushed to a nearby hospital but she was pronounced dead on arrival. Police said the driver was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol when the accident took place. He is currently not facing any charges, ABC-affiliated television station KSAT TV reported.

Just hours prior to the incident, the toddler's mother, Maria Hernandez-Gomez, was taken into custody in connection with another case. The woman allegedly made a false report to a police officer in 2017.

On Saturday night, Maria's brother arrived at the residence to get information about her arrest when he accidentally ran over the toddler. The mother was informed about the toddler's death only after she was bonded out of prison Sunday morning, News4 San Antonio reported.

According to American Automobile Association Texas, at least 50 children become victims of such accidents every week in the United States.

"Most of these incidents occur with children who are between one and two years old. So at that age, of course, the child doesn't understand the dangers that surround them. So it's just so important that parents are focused on where the child is, and then also drivers are paying attention to their surroundings," Daniel Armbruster with AAA Texas told News4 San Antonio.

In a similar incident in Iowa last year, a toddler died after her father accidentally ran over her with a truck. The father was backing up the vehicle when it happened. He got down from the truck and saw the child lying in front of the vehicle.