Update: 9-Month-Old Baby Killed In Canutillo Crash

El Paso Sheriff’s investigators said a 9-month-old baby was not secured in a car seat Saturday morning when he died in a head-on crash.

The boy’s grandmother, now fighting for her life, was behind the wheel, investigators said.

The fatal crash occurred shortly before 7 a.m. on Doniphan Drive near Canutillo Avenue.

“It’s a very sad situation, very tragic,” El Paso Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Jesse Tovar said.

Pieces of metal strewn across Doniphan near Canutillo Avenue are all repairable. But the life of 9-month-old Emilio Honesto, who authorities said was killed in the violent head-on crash, is irreplaceable.

“Unfortunately, this accident that could have been prevented, was not, and a 9-month-old lost his life because of negligence,” Tovar said.

The crash was a result of negligence on behalf of the child’s grandmother, 59-year-old Maria Honesto, sheriff’s officials said. Authorities said Emilio was on the front passenger seat in a baby bouncer, not secured in a car seat, when Maria Honesto — who was also not wearing a safety belt — swerved into oncoming traffic and slammed into another car.

“That’s not the way to secure a child in a vehicle,” Tovar said. “Why that decision was made, that will always remain unknown.”

Texas Department of Transportation officials have demonstrated for ABC-7 how easy it is to properly install a car seat.

“Each seat has weight and height requirements,” Anna Red, with TXDOT, said. “We have children showing up to car seat inspections where they have outgrown and outweighed their seat.”

Texas state law mandates children 8-years-old or smaller than 4 feet 9 inches ride in a safety seat.

“All it takes is a sudden brake for the seat belt to pull against their tummy, causing abdominal, spinal, intestinal injuries, even death,” Redd said.

Had the law been followed, and these simple measures been taken, authorities said, little Emilio might still be alive to celebrate his first birthday, that was right around the corner.

“Take those extra two minutes to buckle-in children… in case of a situation like this,” Tovar said.

Felony charges are pending against the grandmother, authorities said.

The driver and passenger in the other car, identified as 24-year-old Amanda Sanchez, and 47-year-old Bianca Cano, are in stable condition, officials said.