2-Year-Old Girl Struck, Killed As Dad Backs Car Into Garage: Cops

OAK LAWN, IL — A 2-year-old girl was struck by a vehicle driven by her father as he backed into the garage on Sunday, Oak Lawn police said. The child later died from her injuries. She is identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner as Alani Herrera.

Around 3:40 p.m. July 4, police responded to an accident in the 9500 block of South Meade Avenue. A preliminary investigation revealed the child’s father was backing into a garage when the little girl was struck by the vehicle.

The child was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center before being transferred to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago, where she later succumbed to her injuries.

The family had come home from shopping. When the child and her mother got out of the vehicle to open the garage door, the father backed the car into the garage and did not see his daughter, said Div. Chief Gerald Vetter of the Oak Lawn Police Department.

The accident is under investigation by the Oak Lawn Police Department Traffic Unit. No charges have been filed.

Anyone with information or who may have witnessed the incident is asked to call the Oak Lawn Police Department at 708-422-8292.