A 1-year-old girl died after she was fatally struck by an Uber SUV that had just dropped her off with family members in a northern suburb of Houston, authorities said.
The girl was pinned under a rear tire, and while the driver tried to move the SUV to free the girl, he was assaulted by people who witnessed the incident at the apartment complex, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said.
Officials identified the driver as Muhammad Khan, who was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
According to the sheriff’s statement, “Mr. Khan stopped the vehicle, but the juvenile was stuck under the left rear tire. Mr. Khan attempted to move the vehicle but was unsuccessful due to all parties assaulting him and pulling him from the vehicle.”
In a statement, Uber called the incident on Sunday afternoon a “heartbreaking tragedy” and said the driver has been suspended amid an ongoing investigation.
No arrests have been made.
Security video of the incident obtained by NBC affiliate KPRC of Houston shows adults a few steps from the Volkswagen Atlas when the girl walks in front of it and is struck.
“As the 2-year-old juvenile walked in front of the vehicle she was not visible to Mr. Khan,” the sheriff’s office said. “At this time Mr. Khan began to slowly drive forward and struck the juvenile with the vehicle’s front left [corner].”
The Volkswagen Atlas has a high hood and a boxy front end that may have obscured the girl’s presence.
Family members drove the girl, who was almost 2, to a gas station, where paramedics were summoned, the sheriff’s office said.
First responders treated her there and rushed her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead an hour after the incident was first reported, it said.
Neighbor Simya Washington, who provided the security video, said she saw the girl playing outside every other day. She heard commotion and saw the aftermath of the incident Sunday, she told KPRC.
“I was just thinking about my baby, my son,” she said. “I couldn’t even do it.”
The sheriff’s Vehicular Crimes Division is investigating the incident, including the assault.
