An unattended 3-year-old was behind the wheel of a truck left running at a California gas station when the vehicle fatally struck a 2-year-old, authorities said.
The incident occurred Saturday in Woodland, in the Sacramento metropolitan area, police said.
The owner of the Dodge truck left the vehicle running while parked at a pump with his 3-year-old in a car seat and went into the gas station store, according to police. The 3-year-old then managed to get out of the car seat and into the driver’s seat, according to police.
“The truck began moving forward and it collided with a two-year-old child who was near a taco stand on the edge of the lot,” the Woodland Police Department said in a statement Monday.
Officers responded to a report of a child hit by a vehicle around 3:46 p.m., police said. The 2-year-old was seated at a table when the collision occurred, police said. Family members transported the toddler to a hospital, where she died from her injuries, police said.
The 2-year-old was identified by officials and her family as Ailahni Sanchez Martinez, of Woodland. Her father, Sandro Sanchez, told Sacramento ABC affiliate KXTV that she was about to turn 3 in April.
