Mom cited in car accident

A Coeur d’Alene mother has been cited for negligent driving and not properly restraining her children in connection with a March car accident that critically injured her 4-month-old daughter, Spokane police said Friday.

Eileen Jensen, 21, will face fines of nearly $640 for the infractions, police spokesman Cpl. Tom Lee said – $101 for the restraint violation and $538 for negligent driving.

Negligent driving infractions are common, especially in auto accidents, Lee said. There are two degrees of negligent driving, and Jensen was charged with the lesser of the two.

“This is a tragedy for the mother and her whole family,” Lee said. “But because we have an obligation to other drivers in the collision who were not at fault, we had to charge her with the infraction.”

Investigators found that Jensen’s three daughters – baby Chloe, 2-year-old Peighton and 3-year-old Makennah – were not correctly secured when Jensen’s 2001 Honda rear-ended a minivan in Spokane traffic March 22.

“There were issues with all three kids,” Lee said.

Investigators found that Chloe Jensen was riding in a rear-facing car seat in the front passenger seat and that the car seat was loosely installed, Lee said. Makennah was secured in the back seat by only a seat belt. Peighton was in the back seat in a car seat, he added.

The three-car crash left Chloe Jensen with severe head injuries. The baby’s condition has been upgraded from critical to serious, a spokeswoman at Sacred Heart Medical Center said Friday.

Eileen Jensen didn’t return a call Friday. But Lee said the mother was optimistic about her baby’s chances of survival.

“She said she was ‘a fighter’ and ‘a blessing,’ ” Lee said.

Washington state law requires that children under age 16 be properly restrained when riding in cars. A new law that will take effect June 1, 2007, will require that children up to age 8 or under 4-foot-9 use federally approved restraint devices. It will also require that children under age 13 ride in the back seat when practical.

In Idaho, where Jensen lives, state law requires that children age 6 and younger be restrained in safety seats.

In both states, guidelines call for infants younger than 1 to be placed in rear-facing seats in the back seat and that children younger than 13 ride in back.

Investigators were sensitive about issuing citations to the young mother, Lee said.

“Obviously, because this is a huge tragedy for this woman and her family,” he said. “But we also need to be responsive to the other drivers involved in the accident.”