A 27-year-old man has been arrested after a baby and a toddler were severely injured when a vehicle allegedly struck them and their parents in San Bernardino, Calif.
Authorities say Chester Lamont Gordon was taken into custody on Friday, Dec. 5, in connection with the incident, which occurred on Monday, Dec. 1, according to CBS Los Angeles. He is accused of hitting a 3-year-old boy who was walking and a baby who was riding in a stroller.
The children, identified as a few-months-old Alina Burgos and her 3-year-old brother Alonso, were walking with their parents along Arrowhead Avenue when a speeding vehicle allegedly veered into the family, KTLA reported.
The impact reportedly threw Alonso to the ground, while the stroller carrying Alina was dragged roughly 350 feet by the vehicle, CBS reported. The San Bernardino Police Department later seized Gordon’s car, and he was booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and reckless driving.
Police told the outlet that both children were rushed to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. According to CBS, the children’s father said Alonso is recovering from a broken leg, while Alina suffered a brain bleed and a ruptured spleen. As of Wednesday, Dec. 3, they remained hospitalized but had been released from the intensive care unit.
The children’s aunt, Yesenia Burgos, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the family manage mounting medical costs. “On Monday evening, our family’s world was shattered when my brother, Marcelo Burgos, and the mother of his children, Karina Burgos, experienced every parent’s worst nightmare,” she wrote in the fundraiser description.
Burgos added that watching her brother and Karina live through such trauma has been devastating. “As their aunt, watching my brother and Karina endure this unimaginable pain is heartbreaking. No parent should ever have to stand beside their child’s hospital bed and wonder what tomorrow will bring. Their lives were changed in an instant, and the emotional, physical, and financial toll is overwhelming.”
She went on to explain that the family hopes to focus fully on Alina and Alonso’s recovery without the added fear of financial strain.
“We are humbly asking for your support during this incredibly painful time. Any donation, no matter the amount, will help cover medical bills, ongoing care, transportation, and essential living expenses while this family fights for the recovery of Alina and Alonso,” Burgos wrote.
