An 8-month-old Indian-origin baby was killed when the stroller he was in was hit by a car as it backed out of a driveway in Queens, NY here. News reports quoting police said that the baby, Navraj Raju, was knocked out of the stroller as the van was backing out of a narrow driveway on Astoria Boulevard near 93rd Street in East Elmhurst in Queens, NY around 10 in the morning.
The baby’s mother, 35-year-old Daljit Kaur, who was pushing the stroller, had left a grocery next door with a dozen eggs. She had momentarily stopped and bent down to adjust the baby’s blanket when the stroller was suddenly hit by the van that was rolling back towards the stroller.
EMS rushed Raju to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he died. His mother was not injured. Rodriguez remained on the scene and was taken into custody. Police say he does not have a valid driver’s license.
Witnesses told the media that the mother and baby had just left a nearby deli when the mother stopped to fix the blanket on the stroller, stopping behind the van. A witness, Ahmed Ali (26), described a chaotic scene, saying the child’s mother shouted “Stop! Stop!” as the van backed up. Some passersby ran to pull Raju from under the van, Ali said.