MILWAUKEE — Zarion Robinson, just one-year-old, should still be alive.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office says he was in a car seat, in the back seat of a car that was stolen over the weekend. The driver, a 31-year-old Milwaukee woman, crashed the car. She survived, but Zarion did not.
A witness shared cell phone video of the crash. It happened near 35th and Hope last Friday night around 11:30 p.m. Both cars caught fire.
According to the Medical Examiner’s report, paramedics found Zarion still partly strapped into his car seat, which had overturned, facing down on the floor of the backseat.
At the scene, first responders said Zarion was awake and crying.
But less than two hours later, at 1:10 a.m. Saturday, Zarion was pronounced dead at Children’s Hospital. He died the same day he turned 13 months old. His mom was with him at the hospital.
She allegedly told police that she left her son in her unlocked car to quickly run and grab something from inside their home when the car was stolen.
Just a few minutes later and a couple of miles away, the car crashed.
The 31-year-old woman driving the car was arrested. She’s still hospitalized and has not yet been formally charged.
The report says there was an open bottle of alcohol found in the car.
The people in the other car involved in the crash took off running from the scene. Police are still looking for them. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee Police at (414) 935-7360, or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414)224-Tips or P3 Tips.
Crash debris along 35th street, including a blanket, is a tragic reminder of what happened. Just one block away is a family-run daycare called Bug’s Life Learning Center.
Like so many of us, owner Katherine Poston is frustrated and sad.
“It’s just scary because as we try to protect the babies and children in our care every day, we find out a baby died in a horrible crash right outside our doors,” said Poston. “We load and unload the children in and out of cars here every morning and evening. It’s just heartbreaking. I can’t imagine what that mother is going through. I just wish people would leave cars alone. Stolen cars and reckless driving have become too much. We need to protect our babies.”
While Zarion’s mother is not ready to speak yet, she is sharing that there will be a vigil and balloon release in Zarion’s honor on Tuesday at 6 p.m. where the crash happened on 35th Street near the intersection of Hope Avenue (that's just north of Capitol Drive).
