Infant killed in traffic accident

An infant boy, not harnessed in a child restraint, died Sunday north of Folsom after being tossed from a spinning vehicle, State Police said.

Malcoa Perez, 14 months old, was pronounced dead at St. Tammany Parish Hospital shortly after at the 3:21 p.m. accident on Louisiana Highway 25, just south of Louisiana Highway 450, Senior Trooper Louis Calato, State Police Troop L spokesman, said.

The fatal accident, the second in the area this year in which one or more infants died after being ejected, started when the boy’s mother, Christina Perez, 22, of Covington, veered off the roadway while in a left curve.

Perez, driving a 2005 Saturn Vue southbound, overcorrected and spun out of control and into a tailspin.

She headed into oncoming northbound traffic.

A collision was unavoidable, Calato said.

Gary Williams, 63, of Clinton, plowed his Chrysler 300 into the passenger side of the Saturn. The impact ejected the boy, who was in his child seat but not restrained, Calato said.

“Anytime life is lost it’s something we never want to see,” Calato said. “But to see a baby, it takes away all words. This baby hasn’t even had the chance to live its life. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family.”

Perez remained in serious condition Monday at Lakeview Regional Medical Center, Calato said. Williams was transported to St. Tammany Parish Hospital for moderate injuries.

Alcohol use is not believed to be a factor in the accident.

As of Monday, Perez was charged with careless operation of a motor vehicle. State Police and the St. Tammany Parish District Attorney’s office are discussing other possible charges, such as vehicular homicide, Calato said.

Earlier this year, in Tangipahoa Parish on Interstate 12 just outside of St. Tammany, a 1-and 2-year-old died when ejected during a major traffic accident, Calato said.

On Monday, he preached again, like he did after that accident, the importance of wearing a seatbelt.

“We preach it over and over. This is the reason,” he said. “It takes 30 seconds, a minute, for us. But children affect us a little different. A child doesn’t have a say so.”