Minnesota Mom Charged After Car Seat Falls Out With Her Child In It

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Mother Charged After Car Seat Falls Out Into Street

A mother in Minnesota has been charged after her child was seen on a dashcam video falling out of her vehicle and onto a busy roadway while still in her car seat.

40-year-old Maimuna Hassan faces a gross misdemeanor charge of child endangerment, a permit violation misdemeanor charge and a petty misdemeanor charge for child passenger restraint not fastened, according to a criminal complaint from Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The child endangerment charge carries up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine, or both. The other two charges carry up to 90 days or a $1,000 fine or both.

The footage is from January 14 and shows the child falling onto the road in Mankato, Minnesota, as the vehicle was making a turn. A man is then seen waving his hands before picking up and rescuing the 2-year-old.

Police were speaking to witnesses when Hassan and another child approached them, both “crying and upset,” according to the complaint. Police say that Hassan told them through a translator that the door of her 2004 Honda Civic “popped open” before the child fell out and “the child was secure and must have unlocked it.” She also said she drove up the street and parked before walking back to where the incident occurred.

Police report that an officer looked at the car seat and did not find a latch strap, also saying that an inspection of the car showed the back left door was “latched, but not fully closed.” There was said to be no seat restraint system observed in the vehicle.

The complaint also said that Hassan only had an instructional permit to drive the vehicle and did not have anyone else with a driver’s license in the vehicle with her.

Luckily, medical staff who arrived on the scene did not find any signs of injury to the child.

Hassan has been summoned to appear in court on February 14.