Baby Girl Dies When Inflated Air Bag Hits Misused Car Seat

LAKEWOOD — Most people would think a 5-month-old girl strapped into a child-safety seat near an air bag would be well protected, but that same mistaken thought resulted in the death of a Lakewood infant this week.

Jacqueline Licea died Thursday after the car she was riding in collided with another and an air bag inflated, breaking her car seat.

The girl, who was sitting in a rear-facing child-safety seat in the car’s front passenger seat, suffered severe head injuries when the air bag inflated upon impact. She was rushed to a hospital after the Wednesday accident, but died the next day.

Now police are reminding parents to check the instructions on their child-safety seats. A yellow sticker on Licea’s seat warned that rear-facing child-safety seats should not be used in passenger seats equipped with air bags, said Long Beach police spokeswoman Karen Kerr.

The accident occurred at 6 p.m. when Licea’s mother, Sandra Licea, 26, ran a red light and collided with another car, Kerr said. Her 1994 Toyota Camry collided with a 1985 Toyota Corolla that was turning west onto Artesia Boulevard from the Long Beach Freeway.

Sandra Licea was not injured. The driver and passengers in the Corolla were treated for minor injuries at the scene and released.