Teen parents arrested after baby falls out of car
WINTON — A baby boy escaped what could have been a tragic situation with only bumps and bruises after falling out of a moving vehicle on Tuesday.
Authorities said 9-month-old Alejandro Saavedra’s young parents are to blame for the incident. The baby’s father, 19-year-old Gilbert Saavedra, and the baby’s 16-year-old mother got into an intense argument on Tuesday afternoon outside an apartment complex on California Street in Winton, said Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin.
Authorities said that Gilbert Saavedra failed to properly secure his son’s car seat before he and his girlfriend sped off in the Mercedes. When the car took a turn at a high speed, the back door opened and the car seat flew out onto the road with the baby still strapped into it.
After the incident, Saavedra grabbed the car seat, tossed his son back inside the car and sped away again, Pazin said. The sheriff called it a case of “despicable parenting.”
“They basically threw the baby in the back of the car like a sack of potatoes,” Pazin said.
About an hour and a half after the incident, deputies found the vehicle, stopped it and placed the parents under arrest.
“The little baby boy seemed to be okay, but as a precautionary measure they took the infant to the local hospital here in Merced,” Pazin said.
Fortunately, the baby only suffered bumps and bruises. He is now in the custody of Child Protective Services.
The baby’s teen parents are facing felony endangerment charges. The juvenile mother is also facing charges for allegedly assaulting a county Child Protective Services worker during questioning about the incident.
