5 year old Ogden Girl Killed in Utah Rollover Accident
5 year-old Yazlin Setino of Ogden was killed in a single car rollover accident on I-15 near Paragonah, Utah, in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 27, 2010. Utah Highway Patrol Troopers say the young child’s grandparent was driving a Toyota Tundra when the pickup hit a patch of ice, went off the road and rolled three times before landing upside down. Yazlin Setino was partially ejected from vehicle and died at the scene of the accident. Troopers confirm that the young girl was not in a booster seat or restrained properly. The three adult passengers suffered minor injuries and were transported to Valley View Medical Center in Cedar City.
I offer my deepest condolences to the family of the young Yazlin Setino for their sudden and tragic loss. As a parent of a toddler, I cannot imagine the amount of grief that this family is currently enduring. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time.
Liability Issues: Child Safety Seats are Required by Utah Law
One the most difficult aspects of this tragic fatal rollover accident is the fact that the child was not restrained properly in a booster seat which may have saved her young life. In May 2008, Utah legislation increased the requirement for children to use child safety seats and booster seats from four years of age to eight years of age.
Since the new Child Safety Restraint Legislation has taken affect, the Utah Department of Health estimates that booster seat use increased from 35% to 46%; however, that vast majority of Utah parents still do not properly restrain their children. As the tragic rollover accident demonstrates, Utah residents, who do not wear seatbelts or properly restrain their children in child designated safety seats, risk devastating and catastrophic consequences if they are involved in a Utah car accident.
Statistics on Child Restraint Use by Utah Residents
On February 8, 2010, the Utah Department of Health has released their annual Legislative Fact Sheet of Child Restraints in Motor Vehicles. The following statistics were taken from this report:
• 2008, there were 2,662 children ages 5-7 injured in Utah traffic accidents
• 2,604 or 98% of the children were passengers in the motor vehicles
• Unrestrained Children are 4 times more likely to suffer serious injury than children properly restrained in booster seats
For more information about motor vehicle safety, visit the Utah Department of Health Violence & Injury Prevention Program or our main website of The Christensen Law Firm, PLLC, at www.utahpersonalinjurylawfirm.com. Please feel free to contact our skilled Utah accident attorneys if you have any questions about your Utah accident case at (801) 506.0800.
