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Back-over prevention is back in spotlight

JANESVILLE — In the wake of two local toddlers in four days killed by vehicles rolling over them, officials are renewing their focus on preventing such deaths.

The first of the recent incidents was May 25 outside St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Whitewater, according to Whitewater police.

Norma Pena-Bautista, 35, of Whitewater was dropping off her family at the church. Pena-Bautista’s sister, Gabriela Pena, 28, also of Whitewater, stepped from the minivan and opened the sliding door to let 13-month-old Shadaly Pena out of the vehicle, according to the police report.

As Gabriela Pena went back into the vehicle to get out an infant, Shadaly Pena wandered to the front of the minivan. The vehicle’s transmission was not in park, and the minivan rolled forward, striking the girl, according to the accident report.

Shadaly Pena was taken by ambulance to Fort Atkinson Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Four days later, 15-month-old Charly M. Brown was killed after her uncle’s minivan struck her while backing out of a driveway in Newark Township, according to the Rock County Sheriff’s Department.

Investigators believe Brown followed Dwayne E. Fellenz, 32, of Beloit out of the house as Fellenz was taking one of Brown’s older brothers to school, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Brown was taken by helicopter to Rockford Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Lt. Tim Gray of the Whitewater Police Department said drivers can take several steps to prevent the seemingly infrequent accidents from happening.

“Speed and awareness are key,” Gray said. “Always err on the side of caution.”

To avoid back-over accidents, Gray recommended:

-- If a driver doesn’t see his or her child, the driver should assume the child is behind the vehicle, get out and look.

-- Drivers should back slowly.

-- Vehicle owners should explore technological advances such as backup cameras and sensors that emit a sound when an object or child is behind the vehicle.

Four children were killed in Wisconsin in May after vehicles rolled over them, said Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org, a national, nonprofit children’s advocacy group.

“People need to understand this can happen to anyone,” Fennell said. “They sneak out of the house, and you don’t know they’re there.”

So far this year, Fennell said there have been 62 such fatalities nationwide. She said 50 back-over accidents similar to the Brown fatality happen each week across the country, with two ending in a child’s death. She said front-over accidents are less prevalent.

Gray, a 19-year veteran of the Whitewater Police Department, said the May 25 accident is the first front-over death he’s seen.

“What makes this even more traumatic is that in over 70 percent of the cases it’s a direct family member who is driving,” Fennell said.

“The people who love them the most are now responsible for their death, and this is ripping families apart.”