Police have arrested a Puhi man on one count of manslaughter in the Sunday death of his 14-month old daughter, Kaylie Pagelsdorf. The girl died in her father’s lap that afternoon, when the Nissan Pathfinder he drove rear-ended a PT
Police have arrested a Puhi man on one count of manslaughter in the Sunday death of his 14-month old daughter, Kaylie Pagelsdorf.
The girl died in her father’s lap that afternoon, when the Nissan Pathfinder he drove rear-ended a PT Cruiser, which then crashed into a truck on Kaumuali‘i Highway.
Kaua‘i police arrested Michael Pagelsdorf Jr. Sunday night. He has since been released, pending investigation, said county spokeswoman Mary Daubert.
Police view the incident as a preventable death, she added.
Hawai‘i state law requires that children under the age of 4 be placed in a state Department of Transportation approved child restraint system and 4 to 8-year-olds must be in DOT approved booster seats, she explained.
Because the investigation has not been completed, Daubert said she could not say whether the child was crushed under her father’s weight during the moment of the collision, if she’d been injured by an airbag, or if she’d been thrown from the vehicle.
Kaylie’s 2-1/2 year old brother and 5-year-old sister, who both sat in the back seat of the Nissan and wore seatbelts, were uninjured. No one else was hurt in the crash.
Kaumuali‘i Highway between Kalepa Street and Nuhou Road was closed for approximately three hours following the crash.
Read more in Tuesday’s edition of The Garden Island.
