The death of a 3-year-old girl caught up in a traffic accident in Osaka in February appears to have been caused by the vehicle's air bag, police said Tuesday.
The girl died from a chest injury after her 30-year-old mother crashed their minivehicle into a utility pole in Higashisumiyoshi Ward on Feb. 17 at around 4:50 p.m. while trying to pick up her dropped mobile phone, officials from Higashisumiyoshi Police Station said.
The car was traveling around 30 kph when the accident occurred. Even though there was a child's safety seat in the vehicle at the time, the girl was sitting in the front passenger seat, wearing a seatbelt.
Police sent papers to prosecutors Thursday on the mother on suspicion of negligence resulting in a fatality.
An autopsy revealed the cause of the death was a myocardial contusion believed to have been inflicted when the air bag slammed into the child's chest upon deployment. The child suffered no other notable trauma.
The mother, who sustained no injuries, told police she let the girl sit in the front seat because their destination was nearby.