A tragic accident for all concerned. Very sad. However, . . .
I missed the relevant information about where the almost "2-years-old" two year old was for barely 11 months. Do you read this over before publishing?

The poor child was trapped in one of those car seats that you can not easily get out of. She may have lived if it were not for being trapped in the car seat.

Something to think about.

This story failed to state that people in their cars that were just sitting their looking on failed to help the mother was crying out that her daughter was in the car and only a few people helped while others just sat and did nothing its sad and disgusting and horrible that now a days people can hear someone cying for help and the screams of a child dying and no one helps. I read the whole story in the mobile L.A times on Facebook.

Hey JW, the initial reports was that the child was two-years-old. As you can see from the *update* reports at the scene confirmed that the child was only 11 months old.

Monique, we'll have an update soon. From reports from the scene, there were numerous residents of the area who tried to help by pouring water on the car and smashing the car window with a bat.

This is a good case for no seats and/or baby/child car seats. You can die from being trapped in one.

http://www.fiberpipe.net/~tiktin/

This was a horrible thing, but it should teach us that you should never stop on a freeway, especially the 110. Better to drive off the freeway, shred your tire and destroy your wheel, than to be hit like this. Although all the stories keep mentioning people who watched but didn't help, it sounds like a lot of people did help, and it doesn't appear that the result would have been different if those people had helped.

This makes me realize how important a car fire extinguisher is. A motorist with an extinguisher could have run over to help.

Hi all,

One thing I've noticed is that ever since they put the concrete walls up on both sides of the 110, average speeds have increased. I suspect its due to the psychological effect the concrete walls have on the driver, making the freeway feel more like a speedway - also giving the driver a false sense of security. They may have been constructed to keep crashing cars from going into the arroyo or crossing the center divide, but due to increase speeds, I suspect we'll see more accidents as a result.

Such a sad event, prayers and well wishes go out to the child's family.

I've seen lots of accidents on the 110 fwy, and for a long time there were cars that went off the 110 N fwy into the arroyo below. The problem is when accidents happen cars stop and this makes it extremely difficult for emergency vehicles to get through. To add to this problem when the fire dept permanently closed fire resources it also adds to response time because now instead of having a resource responding from lincoln heights the next closest might be all the way from boyle heights.
People need to step up and assist others in need. Did we not learn from the planes that were hijacked from 911 where passengers did not act?

Good advice to pull off the freeway if possible. There are too many blind spots with all the curves of the freeway, and even more so with the new walls. But this looked to be on a straight stretch so not sure why driver rear ended other car. How fast could the car catch on fire? If other people are attempting to help, seems like there was time to get child out.

Just saying, I would risk being burnt to save my child

Bobo: What sources have indicated that the mother did not make an attempt to save her child's life?

Hey all: I think that we should all try to use this thread to express our grief over this tragic accident and share our sympathy and love for those involved. There will definitely come a time to talk about what could have been done to prevent this. There will definitely be future articles where we can discuss what could have been done to prevent this accident.

i knew leiana and her parents personally. i met leiana when she was 4 months old. she was visiting the daycare that i work in. fell in love with her the moment i saw her. she was beautiful with dark curly hair. i was her grew up into a smart spunky lillte girl. we had just had a cupcake birthday party for her at the school. it was sad to hear her dad told me she was gone. today august 29th would have been leiana's 2nd birthday. happy birthday baby girl, i will miss u always. love teacher toni.

Happy Birthday my Little Hello Kitty" you will be missed. love, Teacher Sandra

so sorry for your loss Sandra and Antoinette - caring teachers and caregivers like you are an essential part of any healthy community. please know that our thoughts and well wishes are going out to all of you.

This was one of my closest friends & her baby. People should really watch their inconsiderate comments. You never know who's watching & some of you idiots just don't Care! Family, my Prayers go out for You & your Broken Hearts. Love ya' MUCH Ramirez Family <3

I am very sorry for the loss to the family. My comments have nothing to do with the family or those that tired to help. They have to do with freedom of choice to wear seatbelts. This was a real tradgedy. My condolences to all family and friends. And, those that tried to save the child are real heros.

I knew the Mother she is a friend and the report is wrong Leiana just turnd 2 years of age on the 29th of Aug. She was 45 days older then my child, the Mother and I were both caring at the same time. Simaka *Mother* is a really good person and lived for her first and only child. Leiana will be dearly missed.

Ken--I'm going to ask you to refrain from making personal attacks. We can comment on each others' ideas, not personalities.

I won't comment on Susan's personality, but will strongly disagree with her statement about this tragedy being a good case for not requiring safety belts or child car seats. I don't know what her expertise in this area is, but I've been a police officer for 38 years and have seen countless collisions where occupants lives were saved by safety belts and car seats. I've seen others where people who were not properly belted died when they would have survived otherwise. And, I've never come across an accident where someone survived because they were thrown from a car, although I don't doubt that on a rare occasion that has occurred. Some of my personal experiences - in 1988, four LAPD officers were involved in a horrific crash. Three died. None were wearing belts. The survivor was. Two of the dead officers would clearly have survived had they been wearing belts. In 2003 my elderly parents and another couple were in a roll over collision. All were properly secured and all escaped with relatively minor injuries. On March 15, 2006 my daughter-in-law and 3 year old granddaughter were in a head on collision where the combined speed was approximately 90 mph. Both were properly secured. Both survived with injuries. The other driver, who was not belted in, died at the scene.

You're wrong, Susan. I don't know your motivation, but you are absolutely wrong. Safety belts and child car seats save lives.

I don't know Susan and will respect the moderator's request for civility. But I am glad that Ken has called her out. Her comments reveal an ungenerous and corrosive character. Her willingness to use the death of a child as an opportunity to punish an ideology is reprehensible.

For those who still believe that an infant should be able to make democratic decisions regarding seat belts, here is an article about a motorcycle protest against helmet laws that went awry:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/03/motorcyclist-dies-helmet-protest_n_889427.html

I would love to know if there is a family fund, scholarship fund or charitable organization for donations. I and so many others have been deeply affected by this tragedy and would like to help the family and honor Leiana's memory. I offer deepest condolences to the mother and other family and friends at this horrible time.

Samika (mother of Leiana) is a friend of mine from college. They are a beautiful family and this is a tragedy that is beyond words. There is a fund set up for them here:
http://apps.facebook.com/fundrazr/activity/d37a1fdff27147a2b97ebd297781784a?psid=f70ca5ee474649f4af306d1dbb5269e4

Chris, your article says 50% should survive:
Approximately 35,000 people die in motor vehicle crashes each year. About 50 percent (17,000) of these people could be saved if they wore their safety belts.
This sounds like you have a 50-50 chance of surviving with or without seatbelts. How many statistics are there on the people that survived by being thrown out of the car? I have seen many news stories where people did survive by being thrown out of the car and that people died because they were trapped in the car and could not get the seatbelt off.

My issue is not whether they save lives but rather that people should have the freedom to choose whether they wear them or not, just like they choose to eat good or bad food or smoke. Do we really want communist country where the government tells you what you can and can not do and how to live your life?

People do not have to agree. But this is something to think about. And, a good disagreement is healthy. Just no personal attacks.

First, I was not accusing you of personal attacks. There is someone else that blogs that does that, not you.

That report is very interesting. But yet complicated. It still sounds like a 50/50 chance of dying whether or not you have a seat belt on. And, especially confusing is the fatality rate regardless of seatbelt. And, what about those that die because they are trapped in a seat belt and can not get out of the car? Often we see on the news that it takes firefighters a long time to get an injured person out of a vehicle because they have a seat belt on.

If you want to be forced to wear a seat belt then that's fine. I don't think others should be forced. Where does it stop? No toys for kids at McDonald's, no fast food, no fried chicken, no greasy hamburgers, and might as well shut down all the Food4Less stores that sell nothing but low quality food.
And, no more playground at Burger King or McDonald's. Where does it stop? People need to take responsibility for their own lives. The government is NOT their parent.

I respect your point of view. I know it comes from experience.

Ah, that familiar drone of Tea Party talking points. The onset of Alzheimer's Disease perhaps? How else can we explain the persistently irrational, ahistorical Horatio Alger cant from a generation of middle class old timers who were the beneficiaries of human history's greatest moment of governmental munificence? Educated by the world's greatest public school system, assisted in the purchase of their homes by the GI Bill, their old age supplemented by Social Security and their upcoming hospice stay paid for by Medicare, they insist on demonizing the state's dark power over American lives. Whatever happened to the stoicism of the Greatest Generation who made genuine sacrifices for their country and then got old in quiet, noble dignity? Tea Party rhetoric invokes the inconography of a more dignified America, but Tea Partiers are anything but, choosing instead to act out their senior years with behavior appropriate of frustrated children. God Bless American indeed.

@Ron, What's in a name? A post by any other name would sting as much. This isn't TMZ or match.com. This is a forum for conversation about issues. Thanks for the good word.

Another favorite trope of these people: My ignorance and bitterness is not my own doing. It is the fault of the state. But I choose personal responsibility.

Proved everyone wrong. Child would have been saved if not stuck in the car seat.

Sorry Susan, the only thing you proved is what a low-life you are to come back to such a tragic story to 6 months after a family has tried to put their lives back together with a comment like that. This would be one of the times that no one would want to be right; yet you feel the need to gloat? You should be ashamed of yourself!