Toddler killed in head-on wreck near uptown Charlotte

A toddler who police said was not properly restrained in an infant carrier seat died from injuries in a wreck just north of uptown on Wednesday.

The 14-month-old was in a car whose driver hit another car head-on in the 1500 block of North Graham Street, according to police. The toddler died later at Carolinas Medical Center.

The driver, 33-year-old Dora Del Carmen Sosa, was northbound on North Graham Street near Plymouth Avenue when she tried to pass a large truck, possibly a dump truck or trash truck, and encountered a pickup truck that had stopped to turn left. Sosa swerved around the pick-up into the oncoming lanes, hitting a southbound car head-on, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said.

The toddler was in an infant carrier in Sosa’s car, but the child seat was not being used as designed, and the toddler was not properly restrained, police said. Police said they believe the misuse of the child seat contributed to the toddler’s death.

Sosa and the driver of the car she hit were hospitalized in serious condition. Sosa was not wearing a seat belt, while the driver of the car she hit had a seat belt on, police said.

Neither speed nor alcohol are believed to have contributed to the wreck, police said. Charges are pending, and anyone with information is asked to call police at 704-432-2169.

This story was originally published November 29, 2017 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Toddler killed in head-on wreck near uptown Charlotte."