Child dies from wreck injuries

The child thrown from an overturning van north of Shelbyville last week died Sunday, a Vanderbilt Medical Center spokesperson and Shelbyville police said Monday.

A child safety seat containing Ana Singleton, 2, was thrown out a window of her mother's van as it flipped over five times after she lost control on U.S. 231 North early Wednesday night, police said.

"She was pronounced dead Sunday morning from head injuries," said Lt. Trey Clanton, an accident investigator for the Shelbyville Police Department. "She never regained consciousness following the accident."

The seat landed approximately 20 yards south of the van, investigators said. Ana was thrown from the seat and was found a few feet away "unresponsive" and suffering from serious head injuries, police and rescuers said.

"She was buckled into the seat but the seat wasn't fastened into the vehicle itself," Clanton said. "The mother said she'd been having problems with the seat. I strapped it in and didn't have any trouble doing so."

Ana was thrown out a side window of the van on the third flip, Clanton said.

"Her injuries would have been minimal if she had been strapped in," Clanton said. "The cockpit around the seat was in real good shape."

Crystal Singleton, 24, Ana's mother, was treated and released at Heritage Medical Center, police said.

Police said Crystal Singleton apparently lost control of the van after its left rear tire disintegrated.

"A recapped tire on the right rear caused the accident," Clanton said. "The recap came off, she lost control, it caused her to hit an embankment and she overcorrected and lost control. I don't think speed was an issue."

Clanton said results of a blood-alcohol test on Crystal Singleton are still pending, but he saw no signs of intoxication. He said the case files will be turned over to the district attorney's office but that he thought charges are unlikely.

The investigator emphasized the importance of properly strapping child safety seats into vehicles.

"Clamping another 20 to 30 pounds onto the child, that's just more kinetic energy when they hit something (if the seat is unbuckled)," Clanton said. "If she'd been in a $1,200 seat it wouldn't have helped without her being buckled in. If a person is not buckled in, once they're ejected their mortality rate rises 400 percent."

Help available

Persons needing help with child safety seats may have them checked at the Shelbyville Police Department, Lt. Trey Clanton said. Any on-shift supervisor or Clanton will make sure seats are installed correctly, he said.