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MANTI — A 2-year-old boy sitting unrestrained in the passenger seat of a minivan was killed by an airbag deployment Tuesday night after the vehicle hit a deer on a dark road.
The accident happened about 10:20 p.m. on State Route 89 just outside of Manti. A woman was driving a minivan with three child passengers when the vehicle collided with a deer. The van skidded to a stop on the right shoulder, said Utah Highway Patrol Corp. Todd Johnson.
Christian Roberts, 2, of Ephraim, who was not in a child seat or wearing an adult seat belt, was killed when the airbag deployed. Two other passengers, ages 10 and 13, were taken to area hospitals with undisclosed injuries.
Johnson did not know Wednesday morning the nature of the other two injuries or where those children were sitting in the vehicle. The driver, a 35-year-old woman, was not injured.
Infants through age 1, and until 20 pounds, are required by law to be in rear-facing child seats. All children under the age of 8, or under 4 feet 9 inches tall, are required to have some sort of booster seat.
The UHP recommends children be seated in the back, in the middle of the seat.
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