Baby In Critical Condition After Dad Smashes His Head In Car Seat

KEY POINTS

A 1-month-old boy is in critical condition after his father allegedly smashed the child's head against a car seat handle
The dad, identified as Leroy Peters, was arrested and charged with reckless assault and acting in a manner injurious to a minor
The unnamed boy is in "grave condition" and is "likely to die," police said following the arrest

A man from the Bronx, New York was arrested last week after he allegedly smashed his 1-month-old baby's head against a car seat handle, leaving the boy in serious condition Sunday.

Leroy Peters was arrested Friday night and charged with reckless assault to a child and acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17, The New York Post first reported, citing police.

Peters allegedly forcefully picked up his child and struck the infant's head "on the bar above the car seat" in the family's 285 East 171st Street apartment Friday morning.

The unnamed child's mother reportedly noticed the boy was slumped in the car seat when Peters came to pick her up from an overnight security shift a short time later, according to police sources. She tried to splash water on the child's face, but called 911 when he was unresponsive.

The boy was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where doctors told authorities he had suffered a brain hemorrhage, subdural hematomas and skull fractures.

The child was in "grave condition" and was "likely to die," a police spokesman was quoted as saying. He added that the charges against Peters would be upgraded if the baby does not make it.

A similar incident happened in Passaic County, New Jersey three months ago when a 30-year-old father was arrested for the near-fatal beating of his infant son last year.

Slobodan Todoric was charged with second-degree aggravated assault, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree child abuse and neglect.

The charges stemmed from the police's discovery of Todoric's injured 4-week-old son while responding to a report of a non-responsive child in a Wayne residence on May 31, 2020.

Doctors discovered the child suffered from various external and internal injuries, with medical scans revealing the baby had a fractured tibia that was in the early signs of healing and several bruises to the brain.

Todoric told police he fed the infant and put him to bed after he became fussy. The infant then allegedly "turned blue and stopped breathing" when he checked back on his son later.