LIHU‘E — The death of a 14-month-old girl Sunday would likely have been prevented if she had been properly restrained in a child safety seat, police and a transportation official said Monday. Kaylie Pagelsdorf died while seated in her father’s
LIHU‘E — The death of a 14-month-old girl Sunday would likely have been prevented if she had been properly restrained in a child safety seat, police and a transportation official said Monday.
Kaylie Pagelsdorf died while seated in her father’s lap that afternoon, when the eastbound Nissan Pathfinder he drove rear-ended a PT Cruiser. That vehicle then struck a truck ahead of it on Kaumuali‘i Highway. The crash occurred at about 2:20 p.m. near the Kalepa Street junction. There were no other injuries.
Kaua‘i police arrested her father, Michael Pagelsdorf Jr., on one count of manslaughter Sunday night. He was released pending investigation, county spokeswoman Mary Daubert said.
“This is a tragedy and it’s almost too quick to lay blame in my opinion,” said state Department of Transportation spokesman Dan Meisenzahl.
“But we have laws in place for a reason and this is a really sad example of why they’re in place.”
Past violations
Court records show Pagelsdorf has a history of traffic violations on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu, dating back to 2002. The citations include not using a child passenger restraint for a child under 4 years old and seatbelt violations for the driver and juvenile passengers. In July 2008, the most recent case listed, he was also found guilty the petty misdemeanor crimes of driving without a valid license and driving without insurance.
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 had been injured by an airbag, or if she had been thrown from the vehicle. Kaylie’s 2.5-year-old brother and 5-year-old sister, who sat in the back seat of the Nissan, both wore seatbelts.
Child safety
State law requires children under age 4 to be placed in a DOT-approved child restraint system and 4- to 8-year-olds must be in DOT-approved booster seats, Daubert said.
“A child 8 and under should be properly restrained in a DOT approved seat in the back seat of a vehicle, not in front of an airbag,” Daubert said in an e-mail to The Garden Island. “The most important advice KPD has for drivers is to remain attentive to their driving, follow all traffic laws, and be alert to other drivers on the road to prevent any type of accident.”
According to the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition — a nonprofit committed to preventing injuries to children and youth in Hawai‘i — adults should never hold children in their laps while in a vehicle, even on short trips.
“This is the most dangerous way for a child to ride because the child could be thrown upon impact. You could also be thrown on top of the child with crushing force, if you are not wearing your belt,” the coalition’s website states.
The site notes that the leading cause of child injury death is motor vehicle crashes where children are not properly restrained.
Meisenzahl said such accidents are fortunately rare in the state, but drivers and parents should remain vigilant.
Daubert said Kaua‘i has experienced similar tragedies but could not provide statistics at press time.
“It’s just terrible,” Meisenzahl said. “I can’t imagine what that family is going through right now.”
• Jessica Musicar, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or by e-mailing jmusicar
@thegardenisland.com.
