18-03-2025
What we know about the death of a 7-year-old boy who was run over after falling out of SUV
A 7-year-old boy who died at a hospital after falling out of an opened SUV door and being run over was not wearing a seatbelt, and the driver did not have a valid driver's license, according to a Columbus police crash report.
Zondeair Robertson fell out an opened rear passenger door of a 2020 Ford Explorer at about 3:18 p.m. on the 1000 block of St. Clair Avenue very near the intersection with East 5th Avenue.
Columbus Division of Fire medics transported Robertson to Nationwide Children's Hospital, where he died at 3:57 p.m.
According to the crash report from the Columbus police Accident Investigation Unit, a 27-year-old man was driving the Explorer eastbound on East 5th Avenue with a 25-year-old woman in the front passenger seat when the driver turned right to go south on St. Clair Avenue. As the Explorer was going around the corner, a passenger door swung open, and Robertson fell from the vehicle into the street. Robertson was immediately run over by the Explorer, police reported.
Robertson's mother was the one sitting in the front passenger seat at the time of the accident.
The crash report states only that "one of the occupants" of the Explorer opened an "unknown" back door, causing Robertson to fall out. The report does not say who opened the door. Besides Robertson, the report states there were four other children in the rear of the SUV at the time of the accident: an infant, a 2-year-old, a 4-year-old and a 5-year-old.
The report states that it was "unknown" where Robertson or any of the children were sitting inside the SUV, but does state that Robertson was not secured by safety equipment, such as a seat belt and a booster seat. The report also contains no information about the use of child safety locks on the rear doors of the vehicle.
According to the Ohio Revised Code, any child who is under the age of 8 years old and is under 4-foot-9 inches is required to be secured by a seat belt in a booster seat that meets federal motor vehicle safety standards. The only exception applies to emergency vehicles and taxi cabs, the ORC states.
Robertson's height is not listed in the report, which only states "unknown" for the boxes regarding safety equipment use with the other children or where they were seated in the SUV. The average height of a 7-year-old is 4-foot-1, according to Critical Body, a health information website.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Southeast Side man who was driving the SUV has not been charged in connection with the accident. He was arrested on the day of the accident on an outstanding warrant from August 2023 for driving without a valid license.
He was also driving without a valid license on the day of the accident, according to the report.
The Columbus police Accident Investigation Unit continues to investigate the accident.
@ShahidMeighan
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Zondeair Robertson: Update on child who died after falling from SUV
