2-year-old killed by Ford F-450 after mom left him playing unattended in front yard: Police

A 32-year-old parent successful Florida was arrested respective months aft she allegedly near her 2-year-old lad unsupervised extracurricular her home, wherever helium wandered into the thoroughfare and was struck and killed by a Ford F-450 pickup truck.

Alejandra Segundo Cruz was taken into custody Thursday and charged with 1 number each of aggravated manslaughter of a kid and kid neglect resulting successful large bodily harm successful transportation with the October 2025 decease of her son, Damian Alexander Segundo Cruz, tribunal records show.

The fatal clang took spot conscionable earlier 4 p.m. connected Oct. 29, 2025, extracurricular a location successful the 8000 artifact of 49th Avenue North successful the West Lealman area, according to a probable origin affidavit obtained by the Tampa Bay Times. The residence is astir 120 miles southwest of Orlando.

Segundo Cruz allegedly near Damian and respective of his siblings unattended successful the beforehand yard, conscionable feet from the adjacent roadway. At immoderate point, Damian "darted into the roadway" and into the way of an oncoming pickup truck.

The truck, which was being driven by a 34-year-old man, was stopped successful the roadway successful beforehand of Segundo Cruz's location erstwhile Damian dashed into the thoroughfare and successful beforehand of his car, Tampa Bay Fox affiliate WTVT reported. As the conveyance began moving, the operator ran implicit Damian. He remained astatine the country and spoke to authorities, saying that owed to the boy's size, helium ne'er adjacent saw him get successful beforehand of the car.

Emergency aesculapian unit responded to the country and pronounced Damian dead.

Detectives said Segundo Cruz's determination to permission Damian successful beforehand of the location without an big led straight to the fatal collision.

"Ms. Alejandra Segundo Cruz should person known that leaving young children unsupervised to play extracurricular successful the beforehand gait adjacent the roadway could person caused them to get earnestly wounded oregon killed if they entered the roadway and were struck by [a] vehicle," investigators wrote successful the affidavit, according to Tampa Bay CBS affiliate WTSP.

Witnesses described proceeding shouting instantly aft the crash, with household members rushing into the thoroughfare arsenic the severity of the concern became clear.

Authorities said determination was nary denotation the operator was impaired, and nary transgression charges person been filed against him.

The probe remained unfastened for respective months arsenic investigators with the Florida Highway Patrol reviewed witnesser statements and grounds earlier yet determining the circumstances warranted transgression charges against the child's mother.

Segundo Cruz is presently being held successful the Pinellas County Jail without bond. She made her archetypal quality successful tribunal Friday. It was not instantly wide erstwhile she was scheduled to instrumentality to court.