01 March 2024 , 20:51
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An infant was tragically killed when her mother and the stroller she was pushing were hit by a car.
Bypassers witnessed the harrowing scene when the crash occurred at an intersection in Tucson, Arizona at around 8:30pm local time on Tuesday.
Marquise Reese, a 34-year-old mother, was walking on the street pushing the stroller with her 11-month-old daughter, Miracle Mae Calloway, nestled inside.
As Reese attempted to cross the street, both she and her child were hit by a passing car. While Marquise Reese sustained minor injuries. However, Miracle Mae, who was affectionately known as "Peanut" and "Little One" to her family, tragically died at the scene.
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Tragically, Miracle Mae succumbed to life-threatening wounds (Rebecca Whiles)The driver of the car was identified as 32-year-old Colton Frank Ortiz. Witnesses and court documents suggest Ortiz was driving without headlights.
Eyewitnesses at nearby restaurant Angelo's Pizza and Gyros recalled the harrowing moments when law enforcement and emergency responders flooded the area.
Adam Sieria, a cook at the eatery, told Arizona's 13News: "We were out back working and we started seeing a whole bunch of cops.
Colton Frank Ortiz, the driver, faces charges including manslaughter and aggravated DUI (Pima County Sheriff's Department)
The child was just 11 months old (Rebecca Whiles)"We start noticing the traffic is getting blocked off to do a U-turn, (and) around 10 minutes later, there’s a whole bunch of cops, cars and firefighters outside."
Another bystander, Curtis Johnson, a trainer at Power and Exercise Fitness Center nearby, rushed to assist. He said: "I saw the man who initially got hit."
He added: "He was kind of limping in the road, and I was kind of making sure that he was out of the way of the car. I thought it was a shopping cart or something, I wasn’t sure because it was so dark. And that’s when I noticed the infant was on the floor and it had been hit."
Ortiz has been arrested and faces charges including manslaughter, aggravated assault, and aggravated DUI. He is being held on a $200,000 bond.
Tucson, Arizona, ranks fourth highest for the total number of fatal car crashes (WLBT3)For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US
It comes just weeks after a study by Forbes ranked the city of Tucson, Arizona, as #4 among the top 10 cities with the worst drivers in the US. The study, based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the US Census Bureau, highlighted Tucson's concerning statistics.
The city ranks fourth highest for the total number of fatal car crashes and the number of people killed in crashes. Tucson also ranked sixth for having the highest number of deadly crashes involving speeding.
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Forbes gave Tucson a total danger score of 93.02 out of 100. Recent reports mentioned a man facing charges after driving at 130 mph before crashing and splitting a vehicle in half.